Commonwealth Numbered Regulations Commonwealth Numbered Regulations
Statutory Rules 2004 No. 3441
I, PHILIP MICHAEL JEFFERY, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of
Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the
following Regulations under the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967.
Dated 1 December 2004
P. M. JEFFERY
Governor-General
By His Excellency's Command
IAN MACFARLANE
Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources
These Regulations apply to all well operations associated with a well, as defined in section 5 of the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967. These Regulations deal with the activity of Well Operations conducted on a facility.
Prior to undertaking the work, there will be an accepted Safety Case governing the management of the risks associated with the operations for which that facility has been designed and constructed to undertake. A document called a Well Operations Management Plan (WOMP) will be created to address these Regulations and submitted to the Designated Authority for acceptance.
The WOMP submission can be staged (ie, delivered in parts at the start and completion of distinct phases of the well such as drilling, completion, operation, maintenance, and abandonment or suspension), and will be linked to the Safety Case for the facility.
In line with the introduction of the National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority (NOPSA) in 2005, it will be the responsibility of NOPSA to approve all safety aspects of well operations. Accordingly, these Regulations do not in any way seek to infringe NOPSA's responsibility. The Designated Authority in each State and Territory has responsibility for the oversight of the WOMP and the Environment Plan that must be submitted under regulations relating to environmental management.