In Australia, governments neither undertake petroleum projects nor engage in commercial petroleum exploration or development. Governments seek to establish the macroeconomic climate; provide a sound regulatory framework for petroleum-related activities; and reduce commercial risk through collection and dissemination of pre-competitive geoscientific data to the benefit of explorers and the Australian community.

The Australian (federal) Government is responsible for Australia’s offshore areas from three nautical miles from the coastline to the boundary of Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone. The State/Territory governments are responsible for activities in coastal waters (the coastline to three nautical miles) and onshore.

Offshore petroleum activities beyond designated state and territory coastal waters aregoverned by the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006(the OPGGSA) and associated regulations. The legislation provides for the orderly exploration for, and recovery of, offshore petroleum resources and sets out a basic framework of rights, entitlements and responsibilities of governments andindustry.

The key matters covered in the legislation are:

  • issue of invitations to apply for exploration permits;
  • granting of permits to successful applicants and determination of conditions of the title;
  • declaring locations where petroleum has been discovered within an exploration permit;
  • granting of retention leases over discoveries that are not currently commercial but are expected to become commercial within 15 years;
  • granting of production and pipeline licences;
  • granting of infrastructure licences for various processing activities;
  • granting of special prospecting authorities, access authorities and consents for scientific investigations;
  • renewal of titles (where appropriate);
  • variations of title conditions, exemption from title commitments, suspension of title commitments and cancellation of titles for non-compliance with the conditions of the title; and
  • approval of applications for the registration of legal transactions, including farm-ins and transfers of titles.

The OPGGSA is supplemented by a set of regulations and guidelines, including the:

  • Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Safety) Regulations 2009;
  • Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Environment) Regulations 2009; and
  • Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Resource Management and Administration) Regulations2011.

Petroleum activities can only occur if a company holds a valid title, which in itself provides titleholders with an exclusive right to apply for further approvals to undertake exploration activities that are judged by the regulators to comply with the law.

For example, following the grant of a petroleum title, each seismic survey or well drilling operation within the title area requires further approvals under the OPGGSA and associated regulations, and potentially under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act1999.

Regulatory responsibilities

The regime for awarding titles for offshore petroleum exploration in Commonwealth (federal) waters is jointly administered by the Commonwealth and the State/Northern Territory (NT)governments through a Joint Authority arrangement.

The National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) and the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) perform regulatory functions related to offshore petroleum activities.

NOPTA and NOPSEMA operate on a full cost recovery basis accomplished through a system of fees and levies on titleholders/duty holders.

Joint Authority

The Joint Authority for each State (except Tasmania) and the NT comprises the responsible Commonwealth Minister and the relevant State or NT Minister.The Joint Authority for the Eastern Greater Sunrise offshore area,the offshore area of each external territory (e.g. the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands) and for the Tasmanian offshore area is the responsible Commonwealth Minister only. The Joint Authority may delegate any or all of its functions and powers to officials in the respective Commonwealth and State/NTdepartments with responsibility for resources and energy.

The Joint Authorities make the major policy decisions under the OPGGSA concerning the granting of petroleum titles, the imposition of title conditions and the cancellation of titles, as well as core decisions about resource management and resource security. Other key functions and powers of the Joint Authority include the release of offshore petroleum exploration areas and assessment of bids for these areas.

National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator

NOPTA is responsible for the day-to-day administration of petroleum titles in all offshore areas and is thepoint of contact for matters pertaining to offshore titles administration in Commonwealth waters.

NOPTA’s keyfunctions include:

  • providing information, assessments, analysis, reports and advice to members of the respective Offshore Petroleum Joint Authorities;
  • managing the collection, administration and release of data;
  • facilitating life of title administration, including Joint Authority consideration of changes to permit conditions, and approval and registration of transfers and dealings associated with offshore petroleum titles; and
  • maintaining the registers of petroleum and greenhouse gas storage titles.

For more information, visit the NOPTA website at the National Electronic Approvals Tracking System website at:

For administrative guidelines outlining titles administration matters, refer:

National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority

NOPSEMA is the regulator of occupational health and safety; integrity of facilities, wells and well-related equipment; environmental management; and day-to-day petroleum operations in Commonwealth offshore areas.

For more information, see the NOPSEMA website at

Further information

An electronic compendium of all current legislation, regulations and guidelines governing the offshore petroleum industry can be found at:

Industry may also subscribe to receive regular updates on regulatory developments, and general information on the regulationof theAustralian petroleum industrythrough the Australian Petroleum News, a free occasional newsletter, by emailing: .

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AUSTRALIA 2014 / Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release