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Queensland’s oil and gas industry will undergo reforms to ensure less red tape and a simplified fee system, the state government has announced.
Natural resources and mines minister Andrew Cripps unveiled the new plans yesterday (October 10), saying they will save businesses significant time and money.
The changes include adjusting the Petroleum and Gas Safety and Health Fee paid by operators for better alignment with the levels of compliance checks performed across various activities in the sector.
Mr Cripps noted that government oil and gas inspectors perform audits, inspections and investigations throughout organisations in the industry.
“They (the inspectors) monitor gas exploration and production, pipelines, automotive LPG, gas users and licensing for the installation and servicing of domestic, commercial and industrial gas devices,” he explained.
“The restructure of the current fee system will streamline the charges for the supervision and intervention by inspectors in the areas of exploration, production and distribution and will deliver real savings to companies as the Newman government works to reduce red tape and compliance costs.”
Investing in oil and gas training could help businesses to remain up to date with all the latest developments across the resources sector, fully preparing them for the constantly evolving industrial landscape.
Key changes being implemented in Queensland include the replacement of quarterly reporting requirements, with companies now expected to document their activities annually.
A capping mechanism will be introduced for upstream operators, making sure revenue collected from certain fee categories does not exceed the calculated compliance costs.
Charges to the LPG delivery network will also occur, with small and medium-sized operators having a flat fee, while larger organisations will continue to be levied using a fee per unit system.
Fees for biogas users are to be removed and a number of biogas producers may be eligible for exemptions.