The construction and operation of transmission pipelines and associated facilities in South Australia are regulated by the Petroleum Act 2000 (the Act) and Petroleum Regulations 2000 (the Regulations), under the jurisdiction of PIRSA’s Petroleum and Geothermal Group.

The licensing and approvals process under the Act is strongly founded on a philosophy of objective-based regulation. Objective-based regulation focuses on the achievement of desired outcomes, rather than the regulator telling the licensee what they must do and how they must do it. The Act provides for the establishment of regulatory objectives through a consultative process involving the licensee, the regulator and relevant stakeholders. One of PIRSA’s roles during this process is to facilitate effective consultation. This is done by ensuring that relevant information on activities undertaken under the Act is provided to all interested stakeholders, and by encouraging stakeholder involvement in the decision-making process.

Government and legislation serve a community comprising a diverse and complex range of views, concerns and priorities. For the benefit of industry, clear and consistent dealings with regulatory authorities during consultative processes are required to ensure that all regulatory requirements are efficiently achieved. In recognition of this, the Act seeks to achieve a ‘one-window’ to Government approach, with PIRSA as the single point of contact for the proponent or licensee. The interests of other Government agencies are addressed internally via administrative agreements between PIRSA and the individual Government agencies.

Regulatory objectives must be measurable using specified and acceptable assessment criteria. The achievement of objectives and compliance with the Act is the sole responsibility of the licensee. Monitoring licensee performance is an important aspect of PIRSA’s regulatory role, to gain assurance that activities are being managed appropriately, and that management systems in place are capable of achieving the regulatory objectives.

Regular meetings are held between PIRSA, pipeline licensees and operating companies to discuss various issues relative to the requirements of the Act. Regular communication between PIRSA and industry ensures both parties are aware of reporting and compliance issues in a timely manner. Technical and operational issues are also discussed as relevant. These discussions are based around AS 2885 “Gas and Liquid Petroleum Pipelines,” compliance with which is mandated by the Regulations.

Monitoring of licensee performance is also achieved through formal reporting as required by the Act. Annual reports are of critical importance to monitoring the performance and compliance of licensees. Annual reports must be submitted to PIRSA for every licence held under the Act, and must provide all relevant information, including an overview of activities undertaken during the year and a statement outlining operations proposed for the following year. An important element of the annual report is an assessment for the year against environmental objectives, detailing whether these objectives have been achieved.

Following submission of an annual report by a licensee, PIRSA undertakes a review process to test the veracity and completeness of the report. This review involves a check of the report content against the requirements of the Act, and an assessment of the integrity of the information provided in the report, including field inspections as required. A check against information that has been provided to PIRSA throughout the year through quarterly meetings and other reports is also undertaken. This review process ultimately highlights whether there is a need for the licensee to provide any further information or clarification to PIRSA. The Act provides for the public disclosure of annual reports for the purpose of providing stakeholders and the community with sufficient information on industry performance, in particular the achievement of set objectives.

Five-yearly fitness-for-purpose assessments and reports are also required under the Act. This time interval corresponds to the review requirements in AS 2885. The report must provide a statement from the licensee regarding the ongoing fitness for purpose of the pipeline and facilities and an explanation of the basis upon which this statement is made.

Emergency response drills for all facilities must be undertaken at intervals not exceeding two years. In recent years, a number of full mobilisation exercises involving emergency services have been carried out by licensees to the benefit of all parties involved.

Licensees are also required to provide incident reports to PIRSA. The Act identifies two levels of incidents: reportable and serious incidents. Incident definitions for specific activities are developed through the initial consultative stages of the approval. The onus is on the licensee to report incidents, however the community may also notify PIRSA of any breaches by operators that may be identified. Incident reporting is an important tool for PIRSA and is used to determine key inspection areas for surveillance purposes.

Pipeline licensing guidelines

PIRSA has recently developed and published Guidelines for Pipeline Licensing and Approvals in South Australia, which aims to provide the necessary information to guide a proponent through the process required to obtain a pipeline licence and subsequent construction and operation approvals. Process steps and associated time frames for the licensing and approvals process are provided, along with other relevant information including consultation requirements, access to land issues and native title requirements. The document also provides information for existing pipeline licensees and operators regarding ongoing compliance and reporting requirements. It also includes checklists used by PIRSA to review licence applications and reports submitted by licensees.

Guidelines for Pipeline Licensing and Approvals in South Australia is available on the PIRSA website at www.pir.sa.gov.au/petrol/plguidelines, or contact PIRSA to obtain either a hard copy or an interactive CD copy of the document. The interactive CD contains various documents referred to throughout the guide, including copies of the report checklists for use by licensees.