Petroleum facility licence (PFL) and

A petroleum facility is defined as a facility for the distillation, processing, refining, storage or transport of petroleum. A reference to a petroleum facility includes:

• a storage depot

• a meter station

• a petroleum processing plant

• an oil refinery

• an LPG separation plant

• another facility declared under a regulation used, or to be used, for petroleum production, processing, storage or transport.

However, a facility for the distillation, processing, refining, storage or transport of petroleum, is not a petroleum facility (and therefore does not require a PFL) if the processing, refining, storage or transport is an authorised activity for a petroleum lease or pipeline licence.

When granting a PFL, the licence itself will describe the area of the PFL. However, a petroleum facility can only be constructed on petroleum facility land within the area of the licence. Petroleum facility land includes land:

• that the licence holder owns

• over which the holder —

(i) holds an appropriate easement for the construction or operation of the pipeline; or

(ii) has obtained the owner's written permission to enter to construct or operate the pipeline; or

(iii) holds a part 5 permission to enter to construct or operate the pipeline. (Where reasonable consultation with the landowner, about acquiring the pipeline land from the landowner, has been conducted by the PPL holder and is unresolved, the Minister may grant a part 5 permission to assist the holder of a PPL to acquire the pipeline land).

Note that the granting of the PFL does not, of itself, create an easement for the construction or operation of the petroleum facility.