A breach of a rate of recovery approval is an offence and may be grounds for cancellation of a production licence.
A petroleum production licensee must obtain written approval from the Joint Authority of the rate of recovery of petroleum from the pool prior to undertaking any recovery of petroleum.
In making a decision, the Joint Authority must ensure that the rate is consistent with the accepted field development plan (FDP) for the field that includes the pool.
Licensees should review the accepted FDP for the pool well in advance. If the rate of recovery you wish to propose is inconsistent with the accepted FDP, you should consider first applying for a variation of the FDP. This can take up to 6 months.
The Joint Authority must not approve the rate of recovery application unless it includes evidence that the equipment and procedures used to determine the quantity and composition of petroleum and water have been approved:
Licensees should submit the rate of recovery and equipment and procedures applications as soon as practicable, and a minimum 12 weeks prior to the earliest possible start-up date for any petroleum recovery from the pool, including well clean-up and commissioning activities.
If the Royalty Act applies, the equipment and procedures application should be submitted to Western Australia Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety in a timely manner so that approval is given before the rate of recovery application is submitted.
If the Royalty Act applies, licensees should submit the equipment and procedures application to the Western Australia Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (via email to petroleum.titles@dmirs.wa.gov.au) as soon as practicable. Once the application is approved, the licensee can submit the rate of recovery application to NOPTA.
If the Royalty Act does not apply, the rate of recovery and equipment and procedures application can be submitted to NOPTA simultaneously with one application form and fee.
One application is required per production licence. One hard copy and one soft copy must be submitted to NOPTA (in person/via post and to titles@nopta.gov.au). Each submission must contain a correctly executed application form, evidence of payment of the application fee, a copy of the Form 6 Eligible Voluntary Action (if relevant) and the supporting information for the application.
Content guidance for rate of recovery and equipment and procedures submissions is set out below. This is not an exhaustive list.
If further information is required in order to assess the application, NOPTA may issue a Request for Further Information. This could add additional time to the assessment process.
Application forms are published on the NOPTA website under Forms and submission addresses. Application fees are in the Schedule of Fees on the NOPTA website under Application fees and annual levies. If you have any questions for NOPTA, please contact titles@nopta.gov.au.
The Rate of recovery submission must demonstrate how the proposed rate of recovery is consistent with the accepted FDP.The submission should include any relevant background information, a location map showing field outlines and Graticular Block information, and a brief summary of the proposed development plan. Regulation 4.18(2) of the RMA Regulations states that a rate of recovery application must be accompanied by:
Proposed rate of recovery – this should include:
Past performance (if any) of production wells in the licence area – this should include:
Prediction of future performance of production wells in the licence area – this should include:
Estimate of the ultimate recovery from the pool – this should include:
Equipment and procedures – this should include:
Table 1. Proposed rate of recovery of petroleum for the XYZ and ABC pools. Note that proposed pool totals should indicate anticipated pool offtake rates (as determined by reservoir deliverability, production capacity, facility costraints and production forecasts considerations) and are not expected to be summations of individual well rates.
Pool Name | Well Name | Proposed Rate of Recovery | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oil | Gas | Condensate | Water | ||||||
Metric units/day | Field units/day | Metric units/day | Field units/day | Metric units/day | Field units/day | Metric units/day | Field units/day | ||
XYZ | XYZ-1 | 1.2 | 1,234 | 1.2 | 1,234 | ||||
XYZ-2 | 12.3 | 2,345 | 123.4 | 23,456 | |||||
XYZ Pool Total | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |
ABC | ABC-1 | 12.3 | 2,345 | 123.4 | 34,567 | ||||
ABC Pool Total | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |