204Requirement to have an accepted field development plan

204 Requirement to have an accepted field development plan

A petroleum production licensee must not undertake the recovery of petroleum from a petroleum pool in the licence area unless—

(a) the recovery is on an appraisal basis; and

(b) at the time of the recovery of the petroleum, the licensee has—

(i) an accepted field development plan in force for a field that includes the petroleum pool; or

(ii) an approval, under regulation 217, to undertake the recovery of petroleum without an accepted field development plan.

1 The Act also requires a licensee to undertake the recovery operation in accordance with good oilfield practice—see section 616.

2 This offence applies to a petroleum production licensee. Recovery of petroleum in the offshore area without a petroleum production licence or other authorisation under the Act is an offence under section 149 of the Act.