2016 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release Nominations

July 2015

2016 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release nominations

Closes: 31 July 2015

Stakeholders are now invited to nominate vacant offshore areas to be considered for release as part of the 2016 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release. Late nominations will not be considered.

Information on how to nominate, including a nomination form is available online.

Opportunity to comment: Streamlining offshore petroleum environmental approvals in South Australia and Northern Territory

Consultation period: 17 July to 14 August 2015

On 11 June 2015, the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment, the Department of Industry and Science and the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) entered into agreements to undertake strategic assessments of the Authorisation Process for petroleum activities in the coastal waters of South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Currently, offshore petroleum projects that cross between the Commonwealth and state or territory jurisdictions may be subject to multiple separate approvals processes, requiring assessment and approval by a number of separate regulators. To address this issue, the Australian, South Australian and Northern Territory Governments are considering options to streamline petroleum approval processes in South Australia and Northern Territory coastal waters with a view to maximising regulatory efficiency, while maintaining high environmental standards.

One option being considered is the conferral of powers and functions for the regulation of work health and safety, well integrity and environmental management for petroleum activities in coastal waters to NOPSEMA. Should the South Australia and/or Northern Territory Governments proceed with conferral, all petroleum activities in those coastal waters would require assessment and acceptance by NOPSEMA under the relevant South Australia or Northern Territory legislation.

AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM NEWS | www.industry.gov.au Although neither jurisdiction has formally committed to conferral yet, the Australian Government is commencing this strategic assessment work as a preparatory step, to enable quick finalisation of the streamlining process should South Australia or Northern Territory choose to proceed with conferral.

Draft terms of reference for strategic assessments

The Department of Industry and Science, NOPSEMA and the Department of the Environment have developed a draft terms of reference for consultation for South Australia and the Northern Territory. Each strategic assessment will be undertaken in accordance with the provisions of Part 10 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). In this case the strategic assessments will focus on of the Authorisation Process for petroleum activities in South Australia and Northern Territory coastal waters, to be administered by NOPSEMA following conferral.

The draft terms of reference describe the proposed structure for each strategic assessment and the issues that must be addressed to ensure the requirements of the EPBC Act are met.

All stakeholders and interested parties are invited to review the draft terms of reference and provide feedback and comments to ensure that the assessment addresses all relevant concerns.

The consultation period on the draft terms of reference is 17 July to 14 August 2015.

For information on providing a submission and to access a copy of the draft Terms of Reference please visit the department’s website. If you have any enquiries, or if you are interested in receiving updates on the strategic assessment process, including notification of future public consultation periods, please register your interest via email to [email protected]. Cash-bid round of the 2015 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release

Prequalification closes: Thursday 15 October 2015

Applications for cash-bid prequalification closes on Thursday 15 October 2015. The six cash-bid areas are located in the Bonaparte and Northern Carnarvon basins. Those applicants who prequalify will be invited to submit a cash bid on Thursday 4 February 2016.

Information on cash bidding, including how to prequalify is available online. 2015 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release: Round one

Closes: 29 October 2015

The 2015 acreage release comprises twenty-nine areas across eight basins in Commonwealth waters offshore the Northern Territory, Western Australia, the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.

Round one of the release comprises of 12 areas across the Bonaparte, Browse, Roebuck, Northern Carnarvon and the Gippsland Basins.

Detailed information on the 2015 acreage release can be found online. All release areas are supported by precompetitive geological and geophysical data and analysis undertaken by Geoscience Australia. Information on other considerations that may impact upon future petroleum activities in the release areas are collated and available in the special notices.

Geoscience Australia has developed the National Offshore Petroleum Information Management System (NOPIMS) as an on-line data discovery and delivery system for Australian offshore petroleum wells and seismic surveys. Selected data relevant to the 2015 areas are available from the NOPIMS. Additional 2 material can be requested at the cost of transfer by emailing [email protected] or via the NOPIMS Help Desk on 1800 NOPIMS 2014 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release: Re-released areas

Closing date Thursday 29 October 2015

The following areas are re-released for work-program bidding. Further information is available in the Government Gazette Notice. Entities that have entered into a Good Standing Arrangement with the Joint Authority are encouraged to review the re-release areas. It is the responsibility of entities that have entered into a Good Standing Arrangement to maintain their standing with the Joint Authority.

Area Basin Sub basin AC14-1 Bonaparte Basin Vulcan Sub-basin

W14-2 Browse Basin Caswell Sub-basin

W14-6 Northern Carnarvon Basin Rankin Platform

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This newsletter is prepared by the Offshore Exploration Section, Resources Division, Australian Government Department of Industry and Science. If you or your colleagues would like to receive this newsletter, please send your email address to: [email protected]. If you change your email address please notify the Offshore Exploration Section. There is no charge for this service. This distribution list is not used for purposes other than notifying registered parties of relevant petroleum issues. Postal Address: GPO Box 9839, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia Email: [email protected] Website: www.petroleum-acreage.gov.au

AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM NEWS | www.industry.gov.au