Petroleum lease (PL) granted pursuant to the Petroleum Act 1923 (1923 Act)

A granted 1923 Act PL gives its holder the right to explore for, test for production, and produce petroleum within the area of the 1923 Act PL.

The maximum area that may be granted for a 1923 Act PL is 260 km². There is no maximum term that a 1923 Act PL may be granted, but generally, the maximum term that the Minister will recommend to the Governor in Council to grant the 1923 Act PL application, is 30 years.

The holder of an authority to prospect, administered under the 1923 Act, may apply to the Minister, for the Governor in Council to grant a 1923 Act PL to the applicant (or the applicant and other qualified persons nominated by the applicant). The area applied for cannot be within the area of a coal or oil shale:

• exploration permit
• mineral development licence
• mining lease

If the applicant and any other persons nominated by the applicant are qualified persons ('qualified persons' is defined in the 1923 Act) and the applicant:

• declares that deposits of petroleum that the applicant believes on reasonable grounds to be payable have been discovered within the land the subject of the application

• lodges with the Minister a proposed program for developing and producing petroleum from any field within the land

the Minister must recommend to the Governor in Council to grant the 1923 Act PL application.

The 1923 Act has no requirements with respect to the content of the program for development and production. However, it is suggested the program be prepared in a similar manner as the requirements for initial development plans lodged under the Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004.

The reasoning behind this is that the holder of a 1923 Act PL has an obligation to lodge a later development plan within 6 months after the date of the grant of the PL. This plan must comply with the requirement for a later development plan.

Subsequent later development plans will have to be lodged:

• at least 40 days before the end of the expiry of the current development plan

• when there is a significant change in authorised activities that is not provided for under the current development plan for the lease.

Guidelines for initial and later development plans.

1923 Act Petroleum lease applications

An application for a 1923 Act PL may currently be made in writing to:

Department of Mines and Energy
Landcentre
PO Box 1475
Coorparoo Qld 4151

or lodged in person to:

The Registrar, Petroleum and Gas
Podium 2, Ground Floor Landcentre
Cnr Main and Vulture Streets
Woolloongabba Qld 4102

There is no approved form to be used when applying for a 1923 Act PL. Therefore, the applicant must clearly state, in writing, that the applicant is applying for a 1923 Act PL. The information to accompany the application is detailed in section 40 of the 1923 Act. This Act can be viewed on the Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel web site or purchased from Goprint.