Types of petroleum activities

A petroleum company may want to access your land to carry out:

  • low impact activities
  • regulated operations.

Low impact activities are a type of exploration activity. They have no impact, or low impact, on land.

Low impact activities include:

  • preliminary activities such as taking:
    • water samples
    • rock samples without using heavy machinery
    • soil samples to a depth of up to four metres
  • carrying out surveys including aerial surveys that do not involve:
    • clearing any vegetation
    • permanent installation of any infrastructure or equipment on land
  • other activities that have no or low impact on land, such as testing, monitoring or maintaining infrastructure without the use of heavy equipment
  • airborne operations over a permit area or licence area by aircraft (including helicopter) or drone
  • driving a vehicle on land, except a heavy vehicle, to carry out low impact activities
  • taking workers to and from a location of a permit area or licence area
  • landing a helicopter on any part of a permit area or licence area.

Low impact activities don't impact or cause a risk to the environment. They are not a regulated activity under the law.

For a company to carry out regulated operations, it must have an exploration permit, a retention licence or a production licence.

Regulated operations include:

  • clearing vegetation
  • ground-based seismic surveys
  • drilling an exploration well
  • drilling a development well to recover petroleum.

These activities require an approved environment management plan from the environment minister.

Carrying out petroleum activities on your land

If a petroleum company wants to carry out low impact activities on your land, it must:

  • give you 14 days' written notice and
  • provide information about its intended activities.

If a petroleum company wants to carry out regulated activities on your land, it must:

  • reach a land access agreement with you
  • give you 14 days' written notice and provide details of its intended activities.

Exploration does not guarantee that production will happen.

If a company discovers petroleum while carrying out activities, it has a right to apply for a production licence. This is a separate approval process from an exploration permit being granted.

If the production is not commercially viable at the time of discovery, the company may apply for a retention licence.


Give feedback about this page.

Share this page:

URL copied!