Petroleum activities reporting

Interest holders must notify the minister 21 days before commencing certain activities that relate to wells and petroleum surface infrastructure, as set out in the Petroleum Regulations 2020.

The minister may allow a shorter notification period if appropriate.

Notification ensures that the minister is aware of key activities being undertaken and supports the effective regulation of petroleum activities.

Activity notifications provide a mechanism and opportunity to review the specific activity against an approved well operations management plan or approved petroleum surface infrastructure plan to ensure ongoing interest holder compliance.

Submitting a notification

An activity notification must be submitted in the approved form and be accompanied by an overview of the work plan for the activity being notified.

A notice that relates to the drilling of a new well must be accompanied by a well plan summary, which will be published on Petroleum Onshore Information, NT. This is a publicly accessible online repository for documents and information about onshore petroleum activities in the NT.

The minister may request additional information before, during or after a notifiable activity is undertaken.

Failure to notify the minister prior to conducting a notifiable activity, and failure to comply with a request for information are infringement notice offences, meaning an on-the-spot fine may be issued for non-compliance.

However, the Petroleum Regulations 2020 include exemptions for emergency situations, and situations where it is reasonable and consistent with good oilfield practice to carry out the activity without notice due to circumstances existing at the time.

In this case, the notification must be provided as soon as reasonably practicable after carrying out the activity.

Daily well activity reports

Interest holders who conduct notifiable well activities must submit a report each day for the duration of the activity.

The report is due by 12 noon on the day immediately following the day to which the report relates.

Daily well activity reports provide the minister with an overview of well activities carried out on a day-to-day basis and provide an effective tool for assessing ongoing compliance with an approved well operations management plan.

Failure to submit a daily well activity report is an infringement notice offence, meaning an on-the-spot fine can be issued for non-compliance with this reporting requirement.

Monthly production reports

Interest holders who conduct activities under an approved field management plan or with approval of the minister to recover petroleum on an appraisal basis must submit a monthly production report.

A report for each month is due on the 15th day of the following month.

Monthly production reports outline the volumes of petroleum and water produced, used, injected, flared, or vented during the month.

They provide information for the whole interest area, as well as broken down on a per well basis.

Monthly production reports must be submitted using the approved form and must include all information set out in the Petroleum Regulations 2020.

They have a 6-month confidentiality period, and the minister may release information from the reports any time after the period ends.

Failure to submit a monthly production report is an infringement notice offence, meaning an on-the-spot fine can be issued for non-compliance with this reporting requirement.

Production test reports

Interest holders who conduct exploration or appraisal production well testing activities (without approval from the minister to recover petroleum on an appraisal basis) must submit a production test report monthly for the duration of the production test.

The production test report for each month is due on the 15^th day of the following month.

Production test reports provide information about production test activities and results, including production rates, flow rates and volumes of petroleum flared or vented. They provide any conclusions or implications that can be drawn from production tests to prove commerciality of the reservoir.

Production test reports must be submitted in the approved form, and include the content set out in the Petroleum Regulations 2020.

Production test results cannot be released by the Minister unless the interest holder has published or released the information to the public, including any announcements to the Australian Securities Exchange.

Failure to submit a production test report is an infringement notice offence, meaning an on-the-spot fine may be issued for non-compliance with this reporting requirement.

Final well activity reports

Interest holders must submit a final well activity report within 3 months of completing a notifiable well activity, other than the drilling of a well which triggers a requirement to submit well completion reports.

Final well activity reports provide the minister with a broad range of valuable information about the activity including how and why the activity was conducted, details of equipment and contractors used, details of indications of petroleum resources encountered, and data produced while conducting the activity.

Failure to submit a final well activity report is an infringement notice offence, meaning an on-the-spot fine can be issued for non-compliance with this reporting requirement.

Final well activity reports must be submitted in the approved form and include all content relevant to the activity as set out in the Petroleum Regulations 2020.

Record keeping

You must maintain accurate records relating to any inspection, survey, testing, assessment or other activities that relate to approved permissioning plans or approval to recover appraisal gas.

The minister or an inspector can direct an interest holder to make available copies of key records.  It is an offence to contravene such a direction.

How to submit reports

To submit your reports, email dittpetroleum.operations@nt.gov.au.