Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:C2011A00112:clause:2_7
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:C2011A00112
Segment Type: clause
Provision Reference: sch 2 cl 7
Character Range: 88369–90821

7      Petroleum access authority               (a) the authority has been revoked;
                                                (b) the authority has been surrendered;
                                                (c) the authority has expired.

Direction
 (2) The responsible Commonwealth Minister may, by written notice given to the person who was, or is, as the case may be, the registered holder of the permit, lease, licence or authority, direct the person to do any or all of the following things within the period specified in the notice:
 (a) to plug or close off, to the satisfaction of the responsible Commonwealth Minister, all wells made in the vacated area by any person engaged or concerned in those operations;
 (b) to provide, to the satisfaction of the responsible Commonwealth Minister, for the conservation and protection of the natural resources in the vacated area;
 (c) to make good, to the satisfaction of the responsible Commonwealth Minister, any damage to the seabed or subsoil in the vacated area caused by any person engaged or concerned in those operations:
so long as the direction is given for the purposes of:
 (d) resource management; or
 (e) resource security.
 (3) The period specified in the notice must be reasonable.
 (4) In attaining a state of satisfaction for the purposes of paragraph (2)(a), the responsible Commonwealth Minister:
 (a) in the case of a declared petroleum exploration permit, declared petroleum retention lease or declared petroleum production licence—must have regard; or
 (b) otherwise—may have regard;
to the principle that plugging or closing off wells should be carried out in a way that restores or maintains the suitability of a part of a geological formation for the permanent storage of greenhouse gas substances.
 (5) Paragraph (2)(b) has effect subject to:
 (a) Chapter 2; and
 (b) this Chapter; and
 (c) the regulations.

Offence
 (6) A person commits an offence if:
 (a) the person is subject to a direction under subsection (2); and
 (b) the person omits to do an act; and
 (c) the omission breaches the direction.
Penalty: 100 penalty units.
 (7) An offence against subsection (6) is an offence of strict liability.
Note: For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code.

Inconsistency
 (8) If a direction under section 587 is inconsistent with a direction under this section, the direction under section 587 has no effect to the extent of the inconsistency.