Western Australian Current Acts Western Australian Current Acts (1) A person may make
an application to the Minister for the grant of a special prospecting
authority in respect of a block or blocks in respect of which a permit, lease
or licence is not in force.
(2) An application
under this section —
[(a) deleted]
(b)
shall be made in an approved manner; and
(c)
shall specify the operations that the applicant proposes to carry on and the
block or blocks in respect of which the applicant proposes to carry on those
operations; and
(d)
shall be accompanied by the prescribed fee.
(3) The Minister
—
(a) may
grant to the applicant a special prospecting authority subject to such
conditions as the Minister thinks fit and specifies in the authority; or
(b) may
refuse to grant the application.
(4) A special
prospecting authority, while it remains in force, authorises the holder,
subject to this Act and in accordance with the conditions to which the special
prospecting authority is subject, to carry on in the blocks specified in the
special prospecting authority the petroleum exploration operations so
specified.
(5) Nothing in a
special prospecting authority authorises the holder to make a well.
(6) A special
prospecting authority comes into force on the day specified for the purpose in
the authority and, unless surrendered or cancelled, remains in force for such
period, not exceeding 6 months, as is so specified.
(6a) A special
prospecting authority is not capable of being transferred.
(6b) Where —
(a) a
person holds a special prospecting authority in respect of a block; and
(b)
another special prospecting authority is granted to another person in respect
of the block,
the Minister shall, by
notice in writing served on each of those persons, inform each of them of
—
(c) the
petroleum exploration operations authorised by the special prospecting
authority granted to the other person; and
(d) the
conditions to which the special prospecting authority granted to the other
person is subject.
(7) A special
prospecting authority —
(a) may
be surrendered by the holder at any time by instrument in writing served on
the Minister; and
(b) may,
if the holder has not complied with a condition to which the authority is
subject, be cancelled by the Minister by instrument in writing served on the
holder.
(8) Where a special
prospecting authority has been surrendered or cancelled, or has expired, the
Minister may, by instrument in writing served on the person who was the holder
of the special prospecting authority, direct that person to do any one or more
of the following things —
(a) to
remove or cause to be removed from the relinquished area all property brought
into that area by any person engaged or concerned in the operations authorised
by the special prospecting authority or to make arrangements that are
satisfactory to the Minister with respect to that property; and
(b)
subject to this Part and to the regulations, to make provision, to the
satisfaction of the Minister, for the conservation and protection of the
natural resources in that area; and
(c) to
make good, to the satisfaction of the Minister, any damage to the seabed or
subsoil in that area caused by any person engaged or concerned in those
operations.
(9) A person to whom a
direction is given under subsection (8) shall comply with the direction.
Penalty: a fine of $10 000.
(10) Section 108
applies to and in relation to a special prospecting authority as if —
(a) a
reference in that section to a permit were a reference to a special
prospecting authority; and
(b) a
reference in that section to a direction or an arrangement under section 107
were a reference to a direction or an arrangement under subsection (8).
[Section 111 amended: No. 12 of 1990 s. 226; No.
13 of 2005 s. 46(1); No. 42 of 2010 s. 145 and 171.]