Petroleum lease
You can apply for a petroleum lease over an area of your authority to prospect (ATP) if you make a discovery that is currently commercially viable. If the lease is granted, the area is excised from the ATP.
Note: You can also apply for a petroleum lease in response to a call for tenders, in which case a pre-existing ATP is not required.
Permitted activities
A petroleum lease gives you the right to:
- explore for petroleum
- test for petroleum production
- produce petroleum.
Environmental authorities
Before we grant a resource authority you will require the appropriate environmental authority.
Native title
Any native title requirements will need to be addressed before we grant an authority.
Main features of a petroleum lease
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite authority | Authority to prospect (not required for tenders) |
| Duration | Maximum of 30 years |
| Size | No size limit |
| Renewable | Yes |
| Rent | {{ pass_35450 }} per km² |
| Application fee | {{ pass_35462 }} |
Australian domestic market supply condition
An Australian market supply condition may be attached to a petroleum lease.
The condition means that the authority holder must only sell gas produced from the lease to customers within Australia. The objective is to increase gas supplies and lower prices for domestic users.
Refer to the Operational policy – Complying with the Australian market supply condition (PDF, 663KB) for details of how the requirements of the condition can be met.
Amalgamation of petroleum leases
You can apply to amalgamate 2 or more petroleum leases into a single lease as long as:
- all of the holders of the individual leases agree to the proposed amalgamation
- the holders of the amalgamated lease will be the same as the holders of the individual leases
- for an individual lease, there are no outstanding amounts (e.g. annual rent, rates and charges payable to local government, royalty related amounts or security).
The petroleum leases do not need to be contiguous, but the proposed development plan must justify how the areas will be used in a single operation. Refer to s. 170D of the Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 for details.
The amalgamation provisions do not apply to petroleum leases granted under the Petroleum Act 1923. However, if you are the holder 2 or more petroleum leases under the Petroleum Act 1923, you may apply to amalgamate the leases into a single petroleum lease issued under the Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004, at the time of lodging a replacement petroleum lease application. Refer to s. 107B and 908 of the Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 for details.
Ban on Enhanced Petroleum Recovery using a GHG Stream
In June 2024, the Queensland Government introduced a legislative ban on enhanced petroleum recovery activities that use a greenhouse gas (GHG) stream, within the area of the Great Artesian Basin (GAB), in Queensland.
For the purpose of the ban, the GAB is defined as the area that is on or below the surface of the plan area under the Water Plan (Great Artesian Basin and Other Regional Aquifers) 2017 (PDF, 1.2MB).
Injecting a GHG stream for the purpose of enhanced petroleum recovery within the GAB is no longer an authorised activity for a Petroleum Lease under both the Petroleum Act 1923 or Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004.
These activities may be able to occur in areas in other areas of Queensland outside of the GAB, subject to existing regulatory assessment and approvals processes.
Read more about the ban on GHG activities in the GAB.
How to apply
You can apply online for a petroleum lease through MyMinesOnline or using a hard-copy form. You can also apply through a call for tenders.
Petroleum lease under the Petroleum Act 1923
If you hold an authority to prospect issued under the Petroleum Act 1923, you can apply to have a petroleum lease issued under that Act. A lease can be granted for a maximum of 30 years and a maximum area of 260km². The area applied for cannot be within the area of a coal or oil shale resource authority.
You must apply in writing and include the information detailed in s. 40 of the Act. Contact us for more information before lodging this application.
Also consider...
- Read our guide to the application process for resource authorities for general information about lodging an application.
- Find out how to comply with your resource authority and the land access code.