On 17 August 2018, the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia announced that the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) will be conducting the South East Australia Commerciality Review (SEA Com Review). The review will consider the commercial viability of developing existing natural gas resources in Victorian and Tasmanian offshore waters administered by the Commonwealth1.
NOPTA has requested that the titleholders of the following retention leases undertake a re-evaluation of commercial viability in accordance with subsection 136(5) of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Act 2006 (OPGGSA).
| Title Number | Titleholders |
|---|---|
| T/RL2 | Lattice Energy Limited, AWE Petroleum Pty Ltd, Beach Energy Ltd, Prize Petroleum International Pte. Ltd. |
| T/RL3 | Lattice Energy Limited, AWE Petroleum Pty Ltd, Beach Energy Ltd, Prize Petroleum International Pte. Ltd. |
| T/RL4 | Lattice Energy Limited, AWE Petroleum Pty Ltd, Beach Energy Ltd, Prize Petroleum International Pte. Ltd. |
| T/RL5 | Lattice Energy Limited, AWE Petroleum Pty Ltd, Beach Energy Ltd, Prize Petroleum International Pte. Ltd. |
| VIC/RL4 | Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd, BHP Billiton Petroleum (Bass Strait) Pty. Ltd. |
| VIC/RL13 | Cooper Energy Limited |
| VIC/RL14 | Cooper Energy Limited |
| VIC/RL15 | Cooper Energy Limited |
NOPTA will consider submissions from titleholders and third parties in relation to the commercial viability of resources before providing advice to the Joint Authority. If the Joint Authority considers any of the resources to be commercially viable it may initiate proceedings to revoke a retention lease under sections 157 and 158 of the OPGGSA. The revocation will take effect after 12 months if the titleholder has not applied for a production licence over the area.
The SEA Com Review will also consider the potential of all discovered and undiscovered natural gas resources contained within existing Commonwealth production licences in Victorian and Tasmanian offshore waters. This review will not include the coastal waters and onshore titles as these are outside of the Commonwealth 's jurisdiction.
Third Party Submissions
NOPTA invites submissions from any party to provide information relevant to the timely and efficient development of natural gas resources in Victorian and Tasmanian offshore waters. This information will supplement information received from titleholders and assist in NOPTA's evaluation of the potential resource development options
Submissions made by third party, including claims and assumptions as to commercial viability of petroleum resources, will be tested in the same way as titleholder submissions.
Submissions should be sent to titles@nopta.gov.au by close of business 4 January 2019.
Submission Content
Submissions should relate to the development of natural gas resources in the Commonwealth waters offshore of Victoria and Tasmania.
Submissions should be related to one or more of the retention leases subject to the commerciality review and address one or more of the following themes:
1The Australian Government is responsible for petroleum rights and activities beyond coastal waters (seaward of the first three nautical miles of the territorial sea) to the outer limits of Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), with titles decisions carried out jointly with the relevant regional state or territory government.
Onshore and in coastal waters (the first three nautical miles from the coastline) are administered by the relevant state or the Northern Territory.
