62Grant of lease

62 Grant of lease

(1) The Minister may grant or refuse to grant a retention lease.

(2) The Minister must grant a retention lease if he or she is satisfied that—

(a) the applicant has discovered an underground geological storage formation in the lease area that is likely to be geologically suitable for the injection and permanent storage of a greenhouse gas substance; and

(b) the applicant has demonstrated that any greenhouse gas substance injected into the underground geological storage formation is likely to be contained in the underground geological storage formation; and

(c) the applicant did not have access to a commercially viable volume of greenhouse gas substance for injection and permanent storage on the day that the application for the lease was made but is likely to have access to such a volume within the next 15 years.

(3) The Minister must refuse to grant a retention lease if he or she is not satisfied of any of the matters in subsection (2).