Commonwealth act

Petroleum Prospecting Act 1926

RepealedCTH

This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth

Act Number

5 of 1926

Collection

act

Plain English Summary

2/10 complexity

This Act creates a government fund to kickstart oil exploration in Australia.

What it does:

Sets up a special government bank account called the Prospecting for Petroleum Trust Account
Deposits £60,000 (roughly $6 million in today's money) from the national budget into this account

Who gets the money: The Minister can hand out advances (loans or grants) to:

Oil prospectors and companies to help them test their drilling sites
State Governments, companies, or individuals conducting detailed geological surveys

The catch: Any money given out comes with conditions attached. The specific rules are set by regulations made by the Governor-General.

Why it matters: This was one of Australia's earliest attempts to jump-start a domestic oil industry by sharing the financial risks of exploration with private operators and state governments.

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Current sections

Direct links to the current provisions in Petroleum Prospecting Act 1926.

Petroleum Prospecting Act 1926

PETROLEUM PROSPECTING.

No. 5 of 1926.

An Act relating to the Encouragement of Prospecting for Petroleum Oil.

[Assented to 15th February, 1926.]

Preamble.

BE it enacted by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, for the purpose of appropriating the grant originated in the House of Representatives, as follows:—

Short title.

This Act may be cited as the Petroleum Prospecting Act 1926.

Establishment of Trust Account.

For the purposes of this Act there shall be established in the books of the Treasury a Trust Account which shall be known as the Prospecting for Petroleum Trust Account and that account shall be a Trust Account for the purposes of section sixty-two a of the Audit Act 1901-1924.

Payments to Trust Account.

There shall be payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is hereby appropriated accordingly, the sum of Sixty thousand pounds for the purposes of this Act.

Advances from Trust Account.

4.—(1.) The Minister may, out of the moneys standing to the credit of the Trust Account, make advances—

(a) to persons or companies engaged in the search for oil in Australia for the purpose of testing their holdings; and

(b) to assist persons, companies and State Governments to make detailed geological surveys.

(2.) Any advances under this Act shall be made upon such conditions, and subject to such terms, as are prescribed.

Regulations.

The Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters which are required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed, for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.

Source text

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.

1 Petroleum Prospecting Act 1926