Legislation

Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage

The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (OPGGS Act) and associated regulations provides for orderly:

petroleum exploration and recovery; and
injection and storage of GHG substances

in offshore areas, and sets out a basic framework of rights, duties, obligations, entitlements and responsibilities of governments and industry.

Offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas acts

Relevant acts for petroleum and greenhouse gas storage administration include:

Offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas regulations

The following links outline the offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas regulations:

Further information on the OPGGSA, related Acts, Regulations and guidelines can be found on the Department of Industry, Science and Resources: Regulations and standards website.

Offshore Electricity Infrastructure

The Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021, together with the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure (Regulatory Levies) Act 2021 and Offshore Electricity Infrastructure (Consequential Amendments) Act 2021, provide the legal framework for offshore electricity infrastructure projects and activities in Commonwealth waters.

Under this framework, the Offshore Infrastructure Registrar is responsible for administrative duties such as processing and assessing applications for licences, providing advice to the Minister as the decision-maker on licence applications, maintaining the Register of Offshore Infrastructure Licences, and ongoing licence compliance.

Assigned staff within NOPTA assist the Offshore Infrastructure Registrar to undertake these activities. This is a separate function, including separate cost recovery, to NOPTA's functions under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006.

For more information on the Offshore Infrastructure Registrar refer to www.offshoreregistrar.gov.au.

For more information on this framework, refer to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.