Outcomes
The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Titles Administration and Other Measures) Act 2021 (Titles Administration Act) became law on 2 September 2021. It will be in force from 2 March 2022.
Published responses
View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.
Overview
We are seeking stakeholder feedback and submissions on proposed amendments to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (OPGGS Act).
The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Titles Administration and Other Measures) Bill 2021 (the Bill), aims to strengthen and clarify Australia’s offshore oil and gas regulatory framework.
It makes the legislative changes necessary to give effect to the enhanced framework. The Bill also gives effect to the relevant recommendations from the independent review into the circumstances leading to the administration and liquidation of Northern Oil and Gas Australia (the Walker Review).
The Bill has been developed after consultation with industry, regulators and the public.
The proposed measures include:
oversight of changes in company control (such as through a corporate merger or acquisition)
an expansion of existing powers to ‘call back’ previous titleholders to decommission and remediate the environment (also known as trailing liability)
the inclusion of decision making criteria and expanded information gathering powers to assess suitability of companies operating in the offshore oil and gas regime
minor and technical amendments to improve the operation of the OPGGS Act, including enabling for electronic lodgement of applications
This consultation invites stakeholder views on the proposed amendments. We are specifically interested in how it may impact those operating in Australia’s offshore oil and gas industry.
Consultation documents
Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Titles Administration and Other Measures) Bill 2021 [PDF 741KB] [DOCX 152KB]
Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Amendment Bill 2021 [PDF 224KB] [DOCX 112KB]
What happens next
Our department will consider all submissions lodged as part of this consultation.
Read more
Read more about offshore oil and gas decommissioning.
Related consultations
This consultation is part of a series on reviewing and enhancing the offshore oil and gas decommissioning framework.