The Victorian Government recently passed the Petroleum
Legislation Amendment Bill 2020 (Vic) (Petroleum
Bill) which, by amending the Petroleum Act 1998
(Vic) (Petroleum Act), will overturn the
moratorium imposed in 2017 on ‘carrying out (on-shore)
petroleum exploration and petroleum production'.
The lift of the moratorium will take effect on 1 July 2021, with
on-shore conventional gas development expected to commence in
2023/2024. This change comes after a three year investigation by
the Victorian Gas Program which found that there could be up to 830
petajoules of gas in Gippsland and the Otway Basin.
The Petroleum Bill also invites submissions from the Victorian
community relating to ‘the making of decisions' under
the Petroleum Act, including the approval of production licences,
exploration permits and retention leases. We can also expect to see
significant amendments to the Petroleum Industry Regulations
2011 (Vic) to deal with the specifics of the changes
