Statutory Instrument 1991 No. 981

The Petroleum (Production) (Landward Areas) Regulations 1991

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© Crown Copyright 1991

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1991 No. 981

PETROLEUM

The Petroleum (Production) (Landward Areas) Regulations 1991

The Secretary of State, in exercise of powers conferred by section 6(1) of the Petroleum (Production) Act 1934^[1] and now vested in him^[2], hereby makes the following Regulations:—

Commencement and Citation
    1.    These Regulations shall come into force on 9th May 1991 and may be cited as the Petroleum (Production) (Landward Areas) Regulations 1991.

Interpretation
    2.    In these Regulations the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say—
"the Act" means the Petroleum (Production) Act 1934;


"blocks" has the meaning assigned thereto in regulation 6(2);


"Gazette notice" means a notice published from time to time by the Secretary of State in the London Gazette and the Edinburgh Gazette;


"landward areas" has the meaning assigned thereto in regulation 3 and "seaward areas" (when used in Schedule 1 to these Regulations) means areas on the seaward side of the lines there referred to;


"low water line" has the same meaning as it has in Schedule 1 to these Regulations;


"methane drainage licence" means a licence to get natural gas in the course of operations for making and keeping safe mines whether or not disused;


"principal licence" means a licence of any description under the Act other than a methane drainage licence or a supplementary seismic survey licence.

Application of the Regulations
    3.—(1)  These Regulations shall have effect in relation to applications for, and (unless the Secretary of State thinks fit to modify or exclude them in any particular case) the model clauses to be prescribed for inclusion in, licences to search and bore for, and get, petroleum in strata in the areas of Great Britain and beneath the waters adjacent thereto which lie on the landward side of lines drawn in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 1 to these Regulations (in these Regulations referred to as "landward areas").

    (2)  The Petroleum (Production) (Landward Areas) Regulations 1984^[3] shall cease to have effect in relation to—
 (a) applications made after the date of coming into force of these Regulations for any exploration, appraisal or development licence in respect of a landward area; and
 (b) the model clauses to be incorporated in any such licence to be granted after the date of coming into force of these Regulations in pursuance of an application lodged after that date.

Applicants for licences
    4.—(1)  Any person may apply in accordance with these Regulations for—
 (a) an exploration licence in respect of a landward area;
 (b) an appraisal licence in respect of a landward area; or
 (c) a development licence in respect of a landward area.

    (2)  A person who holds a principal licence may apply in accordance with these Regulations for a supplementary seismic survey licence in respect of a landward area contiguous to the area to which the principal licence relates.

Applications for licences
    5.—(1)  Every application for a licence shall be made in writing and shall be in the form specified in Schedule 2 hereto or in a form substantially to the like effect, sent to Oil and Gas Division, Department of Energy, 1 Palace Street, London, SW1E 5HE and shall be accompanied by the appropriate fee and by such evidence and particulars or documents in support thereof as are referred to in that Schedule and are appropriate to that application.

    (2)  Every application for a licence which relates to an area bounded by any of the lines specified in Schedule 1 to these Regulations shall be accompanied by two copies of an Ordnance Survey map on a scale of 1:25,000, or such other map or chart as the Secretary of State may allow, upon which the boundaries of the area in relation to which the licence is sought are clearly defined.

    (3)  In respect of each applicant for a licence which is a body corporate there shall accompany the application three copies of the most recent audited accounts of such applicant and three copies of the most recent audited accounts of any body corporate having control of such applicant. Subsections (2) and (4) to (6) of section 416 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988^[4] shall apply for the purpose of determining whether for the purposes of this paragraph a body corporate has control of another body corporate, with the following modifications, namely—
 (a) for the words "the greater part" wherever they occur in the said subsection (2) there shall be substituted the words "one-third or more";
 (b) in the said subsection (6), for the word "may", there shall be substituted the word "shall", the words from "and such attributions" onwards shall be omitted, and in the other provisions of the subsection any reference to an associate of a person shall be construed as including only a relative of his (as defined by section 417(4) of that Act), a partner of his and a trustee of a settlement (as defined by section 681(4) of that Act) of which he is a beneficiary.

    (4)  There shall also accompany the application a list of the bodies corporate whose accounts are submitted pursuant to paragraph (3) above.

    (5)  If any of the matters stated in an application or any further information supplied by the applicant shall change after the application is made or after the information is given but before a licence is granted or the Secretary of State informs the applicant that the application is refused, the applicant shall forthwith give notice in writing to the Secretary of State giving particulars of the change.

Applications for exploration licences
    6.—(1)  Subject to paragraph (3) below, every application for an exploration licence shall—
 (a) relate to one or more contiguous blocks described or specified by a Gazette notice published in accordance with the next following paragraph; and
 (b) be made within the period specified by such a notice as the period during which the Secretary of State is prepared to receive applications in respect of the blocks so described or specified;
and shall not comprise only part of a block.

    (2)  The Gazette notice referred to in the last foregoing paragraph is a Gazette notice describing or specifying by reference to a map deposited at the principal office of the Department of Energy, and at such other places (if any) as may be specified in the notice, areas (in these Regulations referred to as "blocks") to which reference numbers shall be assigned, in respect of which the Secretary of State is prepared to receive applications for exploration licences and specifying the dates within which applications in respect of the blocks so described or specified are to be made.

    (3)  The requirements set out in paragraph (1) above shall not apply in any case where the Secretary of State has served notice in writing on such persons as appear to him to be concerned that he would be prepared to consider an application for an exploration licence in such circumstances as are specified in the notice.

Applications for supplementary seismic survey licences
    7.—(1)  An application for a supplementary seismic survey licence may be made at any time.

    (2)  Every such application shall relate to a clearly defined area, no part of which is—
 (a) subject to a principal licence;
 (b) more than one kilometre from the boundary of a principal licence held by the applicant; or
 (c) below the low water line.

    (3)  Every such application shall be accompanied by two copies of a programme in accordance with which the applicant proposes to undertake seismic surveys in both the area to which the principal licence relates and the area to which the supplementary seismic survey licence is to relate.

Applications for appraisal and development licences
    8.—(1)  An application for an appraisal or development licence may be made at any time.

    (2)  Every such application shall relate to a clearly defined area, the boundaries of which, so far as is practicable—
 (a) run north, south, east and west; and
 (b) each extend for 100 metres or a multiple of 100 metres.

    (3)  No application for an appraisal or development licence may be made except by or with the consent in writing of the holder of any exploration licence or appraisal licence, as the case may be, which relates to any part of the area comprised in the application.

    (4)  Every application for a development licence shall be accompanied by two copies of the programme in accordance with which the applicant proposes—
 (a) to erect or carry out any relevant works, either in the area to which the application relates or elsewhere, for the purpose of getting petroleum from that area or for the purpose of conveying to a place on land petroleum got from that area; and
 (b) to get petroleum from that area otherwise than in the course of searching for petroleum or drilling wells.

    (5)  The programme referred to in paragraph (4) of this regulation shall specify—
 (a) the relevant works which the applicant proposes to erect or carry out for either of the purposes mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (4) of this regulation;
 (b) the proposed locations of the works, the purposes for which it is proposed to use the works and the times at which it is proposed to begin and to complete the erection or carrying out of the works;
 (c) the maximum and minimum quantities of petroleum in the form of gas and the maximum and minimum quantities of petroleum in other forms which, in each calendar year of the period specified in the programme, the applicant proposes to get as mentioned in sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (4) of this regulation.

    (6)  In this regulation "relevant works" means any structures and any other works whatsoever which are intended to be permanent and are neither designed to be moved from place to place without major dismantling nor intended by the applicant to be used only for searching for petroleum.

    (7)  Every application for a development licence shall be accompanied by a copy of any planning permission required under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990^[5] or the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972^[6] before the programme referred to in paragraph (4) of this regulation may be carried out.

Form of licences
    9.—(1)  Every licence shall incorporate the model clauses respectively prescribed by the next following paragraph for the kind of licence to which that licence belongs unless the Secretary of State thinks fit to modify or exclude, in any particular case, the clauses so prescribed.

    (2)  The clauses prescribed for incorporation in licences of the following kinds are those set out in the respective Schedules to these Regulations, that is to say—
 (a) for incorporation in exploration licences, the clauses set out in Schedule 3;
 (b) for incorporation in supplementary seismic survey licences, the clauses set out in Schedule 4;
 (c) for incorporation in appraisal licences, the clauses set out in Schedule 5;
 (d) for incorporation in development licences, the clauses set out in Schedule 6.

Fees
    10.—(1)  With every application for an exploration licence there shall be paid a fee of £1,000.

    (2)  With every application for a supplementary seismic survey licence or an appraisal licence there shall be paid a fee of £150.

    (3)  With every application for a development licence there shall be paid a fee of £500.

Plurality of licences
    11.    Nothing in these Regulations shall prevent more than one application being made by the same person or more than one licence being granted to him.

John Wakeham

Secretary of State for Energy

13th April 1991

[1] 1934 c. 36. back

[2] S.R. & O. 1942/1132; the Ministry of Fuel and Power Act 1945 (c. 19); S.I. 1969/1498, 1970/1537. back

[3] S.I. 1984/1832. back

[4] 1988 c. 1. back

[5] 1990 c. 8. back

[6] 1972 c. 52. back

Explanatory Note