Land Access Issues For Pipelines

By Mark Boydell, Solicitor

The Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 (Qld) (the Act) provides legislative governance over exploration, recovery and transport through pipelines of petroleum and fuel gas. As petroleum tenement holders would no doubt be aware, the Act allows for incidental activities such as the construction and operation of pipelines used in petroleum activities to take place on land within a petroleum lease or authority to prospect, despite the rights of the underlying land holders. When the construction and operation of a pipeline extends to areas outside the area of a petroleum lease however, a pipeline licence is required. This licence requirement stems from a general restriction (subject to various exceptions including for incidental activities under the Act) on the construction or operation of a pipeline contained in section 802 of the Act.