Gas petroleum agreements in South Australia

Oil and gas agreements are becoming common around Australia but very little analysis has been undertaken in relation to the detail of those agreements. The first oil and gas production agreements under the Native Title Act were developed in South Australia in 1998. At the time of making those agreements, the presenters deliberately agreed to make them public documents so that others could build upon the agreements.

Unfortunately it is not well known that the documents are public, and it is the intent of this paper to explain the development of the agreements, and outline the heritage procedures and benefits that are achieved under the agreement.

There have now been over 25 agreements completed in South Australia and two ILUAs that provide for gas and petroleum exploration and production. All of those agreements are publicly available and the current agreements are effectively minor variations on the originals.

A new round of petroleum negotiations is about to commence in South Australia. The paper will also consider additional benefits that may be included and the appropriateness of them when considering the size of the petroleum parties that are seeking the agreements