Maintaining petroleum titles

All titles are granted for a certain period of time under the Petroleum Act 1984 or the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1981.

Surrender

You can apply to surrender all or part of a petroleum title at any time.

You don't need to give a reason to surrender the title. However, you can't submit an application unless all:

• operations in the proposed surrender area have ceased and
• environmental outcomes, including remediation and rehabilitation of the land, have been met.

How to apply

To surrender a title under the Petroleum Act 1984, follow these steps:

Step 1. Fill in the form.

Consent to surrender a petroleum title form PDF (80.6 KB)
Consent to surrender a petroleum title form DOCX (70.8 KB)

You must include:

• a statement confirming that pre-conditions to surrender have been met
  • this must include a copy of the notice from the Environment Minister confirming that any approved environment management plan for the proposed surrender area is no longer in force
  • a statement estimating the remaining petroleum resources present in each petroleum pool in the proposed surrender area, including data, assumptions and methodologies the estimates are based on and
  • a list of all outstanding reports and samples in relation to the proposed surrender area.

Step 2. Pay the fee.

After you apply

If the minister is satisfied that you've met all pre-conditions, the application will be accepted.

If it is accepted, you will receive a letter confirming the date the title was surrendered and any requirements you must complete.

You must submit a report within 3 months after surrender.

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

Read more about petroleum title reporting.

Read more about fees and rents.

Expiry

A petroleum title expires when the interest holder chooses not to renew their title at the end of the current granted period.

You must submit a report within 3 months after expiry of a petroleum interest.

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

Read more about petroleum title reporting.