Communication from the French Government concerning Directive 94/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conditions for granting and using authorisations for the prospection, exploration and production of hydrocarbons (1)

(Notice regarding an application for a concession to prospect for liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons, designated the ‘Obernai Licence’)

(Text with EEA relevance)

2009/C 96/11

On 18 December 2008, Thermopyles SAS, a company with its registered office at 50 rue du Midi, 94300 Vincennes (France), applied for a five-year licence, designated the ‘Obernai Licence’, to prospect for liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in an area of approximately 133 km2 covering part of the department of Bas Rhin.

The perimeter of the area covered by this licence consists of the meridian and parallel arcs successively joining the points defined below by their geographical coordinates in grads, the prime meridian being that of Paris.

Submission of applications and criteria for awarding rights

The initial applicants and competing applicants must meet the requirements specified in Articles 4 and 5 of Decree No 2006-648 of 2 June 2006 on mining rights and underground storage rights (Journal officiel de la République française, 3 June 2006).

Interested companies may, within ninety days of the publication of this notice, submit a competing application in accordance with the procedure summarised in the ‘Notice regarding the granting of mining rights for hydrocarbons in France’, published in Official Journal of the European Communities C 374 of 30 December 1994, p. 11, and established by Decree No 2006-648 on mining rights and underground storage rights. Competing applications must be sent to the Minister responsible for mines at the address below.

The decisions on the initial application and the competing applications will be based on the criteria governing the award of mining rights set out in Article 6 of the above mentioned Decree, and will be taken by 19 December 2010 at the latest.

Conditions and requirements regarding performance of the activity and cessation thereof

Applicants are referred to Articles 79 and 79.1 of the Mining Code and to Decree No 2006-649 of 2 June 2006 on mining and underground storage operations and the regulations governing mining and underground storage (Journal officiel de la République française, 3 June 2006).

Further information can be obtained from the following address: Ministère de l’écologie, de l’énergie, du développement durable et de l’aménagement du territoire (Direction générale de l’énergie et du climat, Direction de l’énergie, Sous-direction de la sécurité d’approvisionnement et des nouveaux produits énergétiques, bureau exploration production des hydrocarbures), 41, boulevard Vincent Auriol, Paris 75703 Cedex 13, FRANCE (Tel. +33 144972302, Fax +33 153941440).

The above mentioned laws and regulations can be consulted at http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr

(1)  OJ L 164, 30.6.1994, p. 3.