Interview

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Graeme Waters – General Manager, National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA), Australia

And exactly how far does NOPTA’s involvement ex I am an advisor to the JA – equally advising both the commonwealth minister and the states and territory ministers. My responsibilities lie in the technical assessments of applications made by oil and gas companies and providing my recommendations to the JA on whether or not a particular title should be granted to an applicant. Under the current regime, Australia now has a single national regulator performing those assessments, as opposed to seven different bodies. So, there is far more consistency with a much more streamlined process – giving much more certainty to oil and gas companies.

The two-part process essentially begins at the time of acreage releases, which takes place each year, during the APPEA conference. If we talk about the cycle of a title, from the acreage release, my involvement commences at the receipt of the bids for exploration permits. I then advise the joint authority on the assessment of those bids. The JA, however, does not necessarily have to follow my advice. My recommendation is based on a purely objective assessment of whether or not an application fits within the established guidelines, whereas ministers will take into account a whole range of other potentially competing priorities such as local and commonwealth issues, political landscapes, and broader strategic perspectives unique to each minister that could very well go beyond the merits of any individual application.

all i'm saying is there's more to this than an nopta application.