2. Principal Activities 3. Review and Results of Operations 4. Dividends 5. State of Affairs 6. Environmental Regulation 7. Events Subsequent to Balance Date 48 Annual Report 2004 Except as mentioned below, in the opinion of the Directors there has not arisen in the interval between the end of the financial year and the date of this report any matter or circumstance that has significantly affected or m ay significantly affect the operations of the consolidated entity, the results of those operations, or the state of affairs of the consolidated entity in futur e financial years. Dividends declared after 31 December 2004 are set out in Item 4 of this Dir ectors’ Report and Note 20 to the financial statements. On 17 February 2005, the Company entered into a contract to acquir Basin Oil Pty Ltd effective 1 January 2005. Basin Oil Pty Ltd has a 2.1% interest in the South Australia Cooper Basin, a 40% interest in Patricia-Baleen and Sole and a 33.3% interest in Golden Beach and Vic/P55. The consolidated entity’s Australian operations are subject to various environm ental regulations under Commonwealth, State and Territory legislation, including under applicable petroleum legislation and in respect to its South A ustralian operations, licences (numbers EPA 2569, 1259, 14145, 888 and 2164) issued under the Environment Protection Act 1993, and its Queen sland operations, licence no. 150029 issued under the Environmental Protection Act 1994. Applicable legislation and requisite environmental licen ces are specified in the entity’s Environmental, Health and Safety Compliance Database, which forms part of the consolidated entity’s overall Environmental Management System. Compliance performance is monitored on a regular basis and in various forms, including environmental audits condu cted by regulatory authorities and by the Company, either through internal or external resources. During the financial year, except as mention ed below, no fines were imposed, no prosecutions were instituted and no notice of non-compliance with the above referenced regulations was received from a regulatory body. A directive was issued by the Northern Territory Department of Business, Industry and Resource Developmen in December 2004 in relation to flaring of gas at Mereenie under Clause 619 of the Schedule of Onshore Petroleum Exploration and Production Requirements 1993 issued under the Northern Territory Petroleum Act 1984. A report was submitted to the Department regarding this incident. A show cause notice was received from the Department of Primary Industries and Resources, South Australia, in June 2004 in relation to the Keleary to Merrimeli oil pipeline under the South Australian Petroleum Act 2000. The pipeline has been assessed and a management strategy has been agreed with the Departm ent. In the opinion of the Directors, there were no significant changes in th state of affairs of the consolidated entity that occurred during the financial year other than those referred to on pages 2 to 7, 10 to 12 and 14 to 28 of  this Annual Report. In accordance with the Terms of Issue, fully franked dividends of $3.2940 per reset convertible preference share were paid on 31 March 2004 and 30 September 2004 respectively; each amounting to $11.5 million. A fully franked final dividend of $87.7 million (15 cents per share) was pai d on 31 March 2004 on the 2003 results. Indication of this dividend payment was disclosed in the 2003 Annual Report. A fully franked interim divi dend of $87.8 million (15 cents per share) was paid to members on 30 September 2004. (i) that a fully franked final dividend of 18 cents per fully paid ordinary shar e be paid on 31 March 2005 to shareholders registered in the books of the Company at the close of business on 4 March 2005. This final dividen d amounts to approximately $105.4 million; and (ii) that in accordance with the Terms of Issue, a fully franked dividend of  $2.4497 per Franked Unsecured Equity Listed Securities be paid on 31 March 2005 to holders registered in the books of the Company at th close of business on 4 March 2005, amounting to $14.7 million. The principal activities of the consolidated entity during the financial year wer e: petroleum exploration, the production, treatment and marketing of natural gas, crude oil, condensate, naphtha and liquid petroleum gas, and th e transportation by pipeline of crude oil. No significant change in the nature of these activities has occurred during the year. A review of the operations and of the results of those operations of the con solidated entity during the financial year are contained on pages 2 to 7, 10 to 12 and 14 to 28 of this Annual Report. On 23 February 2005, Directors declared:-