168Surrender of authority

168 Surrender of authority

(1) The holder of an authority may surrender the authority with the consent of the Minister.

(2) The Minister must not give his or her consent to the surrender of an authority unless he or she is satisfied that the holder of the authority—

(a) has complied with all the relevant requirements of this Act in relation to the authority; and

(b) has complied with all of the conditions that apply to the authority; and

(c) has plugged or closed off all wells that were made in the authority area under the authority; and

(d) in the case of an exploration permit that has not been renewed, has achieved the key objects of the work program declared by the Minister under Part 3; and

(e) in the case of an exploration permit that has been renewed, has achieved the key objects of the work program declared by the Minister under Part 3 that were to have been achieved by or during the year in which the surrender is sought.

(3) The Minister must not unreasonably refuse to give his or her consent under this section.

(4) If the Minister is not satisfied as to any matter referred to in subsection (2), he or she may still consent to the surrender of the authority if he or she is satisfied that the failure to comply with the relevant requirement was the result of one or more events beyond the control of the holder of the authority.