Update 11 April 2024 – Legislation has been amended

    Please refer to current legislation Energy Resources Act 2000 and Energy Resources Regulations 2013.

    The amended legislation supersedes the Petroleum and Geothermal Act 2000 and Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Regulations 2013.

    Guidelines and policies have yet to be reviewed in accord with the amended legislation, any updates of these documents will be advised accordingly.

    For further information please contact DEM.Petroleum@sa.gov.au

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The Energy Resources Act 2000 licensing and approvals process consists of three stages:

  • Stage 1 - Licensing
  • Stage 2 - Environmental impact assessment and approval of Environmental Objectives
  • Stage 3 - Activity notification and approval

The steps involved in the three stages of the activity approvals process are characterised by the particular activity being proposed. The activity approvals process is divided into two types; the general activity approvals process, which includes exploration, retention, production and associated activities, and the pipeline activity approvals process which includes transmission pipeline projects.

The steps involved in the exploration, retention, production and associated activities approval processes and steps involved in a transmission pipeline project activity approval process are detailed in the following flow-charts:

Stage 1 - Licensing

For detailed information on the processes and requirements of obtaining a licence under the Energy Resources Act 2000, see how to apply for a licence.

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Stage 2 - Environmental assessment and approval of Environmental Objectives

Environmental Impact Report

In accordance with Section 97 of the Energy Resources Act 2000, Licensees are required to prepare an Environmental Impact Report for proposed regulated activities. This document addresses the potential impacts to the environment, and outlines the extent to which these impacts can be managed.

Section 97(2) requires that an environmental impact report -

(a) must take into account cultural, amenity and other values of Aboriginal and other Australians insofar as those values are relevant to the assessment; and

(b) must take into account risks inherent in the regulated activities to the health and safety of the public; and

(c) must contain sufficient information to make possible an informed assessment of the likely impact of the activities on the environment.

Section 97(4) requires that an environmental impact report must include an assessment of the environmental impact of regulated activities to which the report applies against the environmental impact assessment criteria.

Further to this, under Regulation 10 of the Energy Resources Regulations 2013 the Environmental Impact Report is required to provide the following information:

  • a description of the regulated activities to be carried out under the licence (including their location);
  • a description of the specific elements of the environment that can reasonably be expected to be affected by the activities, with particular reference to the environment and existing land uses;
  • an assessment of the cultural and heritage values of Aboriginal and other Australians which could reasonably be foreseen to be affected by the activities in the area of the licence, and the public health and safety risks inherent in those activities;
  • if required by the Minister – a prudential assessment of the security of natural gas supply; and
  • information on any consultation that has occurred with the owner of the relevant land, any Aboriginal groups or representatives, any agency or instrumentality of the Crown, or any other relevant stakeholders, including specific details about relevant issues that have been raised and any response of those issues, but not including confidential information.

Statement of Environmental Objectives

A Statement of Environmental Objectives (SEO) is developed through an open, consultative process, based on information provided in the Environmental Impact Report. A Statement of Environmental Objectives may relate to either a specific activity carried out at a specific location; or a particular activity type (e.g. drilling, seismic activities, the construction and operations of facilities and pipelines) carried out within a specific region or land system.

For the purposes of the Energy Resources Act 2000 the definition of environment includes the natural, social, cultural and economic aspects of the area, locality or region.

A Statement of Environmental Objectives for a regulated activity must state the environmental objectives to be achieved in carrying out the specified activities, as well as the assessment criteria used to assess whether the objectives have been achieved by the licensee.

Section 100 of the Energy Resources Act requires that a Statement of Environmental Objectives:

(1)(a) must state environmental objectives that must be achieved in carrying out regulated activities to which the statement applies; and

(b) must state criteria to be applied to determine whether the stated environmental objectives have been achieved in a particular case; and

(c) must set out—

(i) leading performance criteria; and

(ii) immediately reportable incidents and reportable incidents (both within the meaning of section 85); and

(d) must contain such other information as prescribed by the regulations.

(2) One of the environmental objectives must be the rehabilitation of land adversely affected by regulated activities.

These features of a Statement of Environmental Objectives provide transparency to stakeholders on what is required of the licensee in terms of its environmental performance.

It is a requirement, under Regulation 13 of the Energy Resources Regulations 2013, that a Statement of Environmental Objectives will be reviewed at least once in every 5 years. If this review identifies that a revision of the document is required, the document will be revised by the Minister (or cause the revision to be undertaken by the licensee) and then the statement is submitted for consideration under the Energy Resources Act 2000.

The information and material provided in the Environmental Impact Report and Statement of Environmental Objectives must:

  • be balanced, objective and concise;
  • state any limitations that apply, or should apply, to the use of the information and material;
  • identify any area or issue in relation to which there is a significant lack of relevant information or a significant degree of uncertainty;
  • identify the sensitivity to change of any assumption that has been made and any significant risks that may arise if an assumption is later found to be incorrect; and
  • be presented in a way that allows a person assessing the information or material to understand how conclusions have been reached and allows the information or material to be used to make an informed decision on the level of environmental impact of a particular activity without the need to obtain additional technical advice.

Current and archived Environmental Impact Reports and Statements of Environmental Objectives are available on the Environmental Register.

Consultation required by licensee on the EIR and SEO

As per section 97(6) and 99(3) of the Act a licensee must prepare a consultation plan in accordance with Regulation 11 that states the licensee must prepare a consultation plan that-

(a) states the day on which consultation is due to commence; and

(b) includes a list of—

(ii) any affected agency or instrumentality of the Crown; and

(i) all identified owners of the land to which the report or statement relates; and

(c) describes the method of engagement to be used in consultation, including how the licensee intends to respond to relevant issues raised as a result of consultation; and

(d) focuses the engagement on the environmental objectives and assessment criteria necessary to be achieved to demonstrate that any potential consequences of the proposed activities will be adequately managed and controlled; and

(e) identifies all relevant parts in the environmental impact report or statement of environmental objectives that are to be consulted on; and

(f) complies with any other requirement notified to the licensee by the Minister.

Consultation plans must be submitted to DEM at least 10 days before consultation is due to commence.

Consultation by the Minister

Once an EIR and SEO is submitted to DEM, an assessment will be undertaken to ensure the documents meet the requirements of the Act, Regulations and the Environmental Impact Assessment Criteria as required under Section 97(4) of the Act.

Once satisfied the documents are compliant, DEM as delegate to the Minister, for the purposes of section 105A of the Act, will undertake public consultation inviting written submissions for a minimum 30 business day period in accordance with the requirements of Regulation 14.

Any submissions received during this consultation will be provided to the licensee. DEM may require the licensee to respond to any matter raised in any of the submissions, noting submissions that are irrelevant or offensive will not be considered.

Written submissions received will be made publicly available on the Environmental Register.

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Stage 3 - Activity notification and approval

In accordance with Regulations 18 and 19, licensees are required to notify, and where relevant, seek approval from the Minister through DEM prior to commencing any regulated activity within a licence area. The activity notification requirements for activities classified as requiring low level official surveillance and those classified as requiring high level official surveillance differ by the amount of information provided and the time frame it is provided in.

As part of its assessment, DEM will also advise licensees whether additional approvals from co-regulatory agencies are required in relation to specific activities.

Low level official surveillance activities (Regulation 18)

An activity notification for an activity classified as requiring low level official surveillance must, pursuant to the requirements of Regulation 18, be submitted to DEM at least 21 days before the proposed commencement date of the activity. As long as no landowner objections are received by the Minister, and the application is compliant, activities can commence at the end of the 21 day period.

This notification must be accompanied by information to satisfy Regulation 20.

High level official surveillance activities (Regulation 19)

PGRG004-1An activity notification including application for the Minister’s approval, pursuant to the requirements stipulated under Regulation 19 for all activities classified as requiring high level official surveillance, must be provided to DEM for assessment and approval at least 35 days before the proposed commencement date of the activity in question.

This notification must be accompanied by information to satisfy Regulation 20.

Subregulation 19(2)(a) specifies that activity notifications for high level official surveillance activities must also include detailed information on the licensee’s proposals in respect of the management system elements, outlined in Regulation 16A.

High level official surveillance activities require Ministerial approval prior to commencement.

Detailed activity information (Regulation 20)

Activity notifications for all activities whether classified as requiring high or low level official surveillance, are required to include or be accompanied by information and material specific to the proposed activity pursuant to various sections of the Energy Resources Act 2000 and associated regulations. DEM have provided guidance on the requirements for activity notifications in the Activity Notification Checklist.

Of particular note, with respect to environmental reporting obligations under Subregulation 20(1)(g), an assessment is required to be provided by the licensee determining whether the proposed activity is covered by an existing and approved Statement of Environmental Objectives, in addition to detailing how the licensee will ensure that the proposed activity will satisfy the respective Statement of Environmental Objectives requirements.

More information on high and low level official surveillance classification.

Notice of entry

In addition to the stakeholder consultation requirements in the preparation and approval of the Statement of Environmental Objectives, licensees are obliged under Section 61(1) of the Energy Resources Act 2000 to give notices of entry to all landowners 21 days prior to entering and commencing any activity on any land.

In accordance with the requirements of Regulation 9C of the Energy Resources Regulations 2013 the notice of entry must contain:

  • a detailed description of what will be undertaken;
  • sufficient information to enable the landowner to reach an informed decision about the impacts and potential impacts the activities will or may have on the land; and
  • sufficient information on the use and/or consequential loss of use of the land by the landowner resulting from the activities.

Furthermore, Section 62(2) of the Energy Resources Act 2000 provides landowners with the right to object to entry within 14 days and to seek any compensation for loss of use or damage or potential loss of use or damage to the land.

Notice of entry templates (Regulation 9C)

Notice of Entry for regulated activities (DOCX 69 KB) is primarily aimed at providing detailed information to landowners as required by Regulation 9C of the Energy Resources Regulations 2013.

The Liaison guidelines for landowners and petroleum and geothermal energy explorers in South Australia is a guide to establishing and maintaining good relations between the petroleum industry and land owners, occupiers and titleholders.

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