Fees and charges

Environmental regulation of the onshore petroleum industry in the Northern Territory (NT) is subject to a cost recovery framework.

This includes payment of:

• a one-off environment management plan assessment fee for each plan submitted for a decision under the Petroleum (Environment) Regulations 2016
• an annual monitoring and compliance levy for each approved and in-force environment management plan held by an interest holder (amount determined by annual activities)
• financial assurance framework, which includes payment of an environmental security for all activities in each approved environment management plan.

To support this process, interest holders are required to complete the approved form: onshore petroleum fees and securities DOTX (82.5 KB).

The approved form must be included when submitting an environment management plan for a decision.

The approved form includes sections on:

• interest holder details and declarations
• environment management plan assessment fee
• environmental security.

Environment management plan assessment fee

Pay the assessment fee when you lodge an environment management plan for assessment and the amount payable is confirmed.

The fee is made up of a base fee plus an activity-based component.

The base fee applies to all environment management plan applications.

The activity-based component will depend on the number and type of activities covered under the environment management plan.

Use the calculator

You must use the onshore petroleum fees and levies calculator to determine the applicable environment management plan assessment fee.

Find out more

Interest holders can get help on how to select the relevant activities and use the calculator to determine the applicable fees and levies by reading the onshore petroleum fees and levies calculation guideline.

How to pay

The assessment fee can be paid using one of the following:

• credit card (Visa or Mastercard)
• direct debit - call the Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security on 08 8924 4039 for account details
• cheque or money order made payable to the Receiver of Territory Monies.

An invoice will be raised following acceptance of fee calculation.

Monitoring and compliance levy

The annual monitoring and compliance levy is intended to recover the costs of a range monitoring and compliance activities conducted by:

• Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security (DEPWS)
• Department of Infrastructure, Tourism and Trade (DITT).

The levy is also calculated on a base fee, plus an activity-based component.

The regulated activities included in an environment management plan inform broad activity categories used to calculate this levy.

Cap on activities

The Petroleum Regulations 2020 provide for a cap on activities to limit the double-up of levy to be paid.

• If 2 or more activities are to be undertaken in a particular title area fall into a particular activity category, that category will be counted once in relation to that title area.
• An activity to be undertaken in 2 or more title areas will be counted once for each title area.
• For 2 or more seismic surveys to be undertaken in a title area, the total length of seismic surveys in that title area are to be added together and this will determine the levy required.

Regulated activities in the Beetaloo Sub-basin

Regulated activities in the Beetaloo Sub-basin will incur an uplift factor to recover the cost of the Strategic Regional Environmental Baseline Assessment (SREBA).

The uplift factor will initially be set at 30% of amount of monitoring and compliance levy payable. The uplift factor and rate of recovery of the SREBA costs will be reviewed after 3 years.

When to pay

An annual return: onshore petroleum monitoring and compliance levy form must be completed and submitted at the time of payment of the levy.

The form needs to detail the:

• proposed activities expected to be undertaken during the upcoming financial year
• ongoing activities from previous years.

The levy must be paid by 31 July of the financial year that the levy relates.

If a new activity is approved in that same year, an additional levy must be paid within 30 days of the approval of that activity and will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.

Use the calculator

The same calculator for determining the environment management plan assessment fee must be used to calculate the monitoring and compliance levy. Get the onshore petroleum fees and levies calculator.

Find out more

Interest holders can get help on how to select the relevant activities and use the calculator to determine the applicable levies by reading the onshore petroleum fees and levies calculation guideline .

How to pay

The monitoring and compliance levy can be paid using one of the following methods:

• credit card (Visa or Mastercard)
• direct debit - call DITT on 08 8999 5263 for account details
• cheque or money order made payable to the Receiver of Territory Monies.

An invoice will be raised on request.

Environmental security

An environmental security applies to pay the costs if government needs to carry out work on behalf of an interest holder.

This security prevents taxpayers from bearing the financial costs of:

• environmental rehabilitation
• remediation of impacts from regulated activities.

It allows for the total estimated cost for remediation and rehabilitation of all disturbed areas.

Environmental securities may provide for:

• standardised costs to cover specific costs, liabilities and risks associated with environmental impact and harm resulting from activities in an approved EMP, including costs for remediation and rehabilitation,
• standardised costs to manage residual risk of environmental harm, including monitoring, after remediation and rehabilitation has been undertaken
• a contingency amount to reduce the risk that the value of the security is inadequate.

Interest holders must pay an environmental security before any of the regulated activities in an approved environment management plan are commenced.

Interest holders can find out how the environmental security is to be calculated by reading the Onshore Petroleum Environmental Security Calculation Guideline PDF (721.5 KB).

Progressive rehabilitation

Interest holders must carry out progressive rehabilitation of disturbed areas within 12 months of the regulated activity being completed at each location for conduct of the regulated activity. This is in accordance with the approved environment management plan.

The environmental security will not be released unless all remediation and rehabilitation requirements have been done in accordance with the approved environment management plan and rehabilitation success has been demonstrated.

Calculating the security

The Onshore petroleum environmental security calculator XLTX (149.3 KB) has standardised costs for use by interest holders to calculate the environmental security.

When to pay

An annual return: environmental securities DOTX (79.7 KB) is required to be completed and submitted annually.

The form needs to detail the:

• proposed activities expected to be undertaken during the upcoming financial year
• activities from previous years that have not been undertaken
• securities already paid relative to activities undertaken and not undertaken
• estimated securities for upcoming activities in a financial year.

The annual return must be submitted by 1 June each year.

The security must be paid by 31 July of the financial year that the activities relate.

No approved activities can commence without payment of the associated environmental security.

Find out more

Interest holders can find out how the environmental security is to be calculated, by reading the Onshore Petroleum Environmental Security Calculation Guideline PDF (721.5 KB).

How to pay

If paying by cash, the environmental security can be paid using one of the following methods:

• credit card (Visa or Mastercard)
• direct debit - call the DITT on 08 8999 5263 for account details
• cheque or money order made payable to the Receiver of Territory Monies.

An invoice will be raised on request.

Submit a bank guarantee

If you submit a bank guarantee for environmental security, it must:

• be made by an authorised bank under the Banking Act 1959.
  • for more information, go to the Department of Treasury and Finance website
• be in favour of the Northern Territory of Australia
• be unconditional, irrevocable, payable on demand and have no expiry date
• include the name of the operator
• include the relevant petroleum title
• include the reason for the security
• include the dollar amount of security.

Email the draft bank guarantee for review to energytitles.ditt@nt.gov.au before submitting it to the department.

Bank guarantees, money orders and cheques can be sent by mail to:

Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade
GPO Box 455
Darwin NT 0801

Contact

To find out more email onshoregas.depws@nt.gov.au.