Communication from the Minister for Economic Development of the Italian Republic pursuant to Article 3(2) of 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

2013/C 106/07

Pursuant to Article 3(2)(a) of Directive 94/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 1994 on the conditions for granting and using authorisations for the prospection, exploration and production of hydrocarbons, the Minister for Economic Development issued Ministerial Decree of 27 December 2012 on the extension of ‘marine area C — south’, extending it to the east in the southern Ionian Sea and to the south-east in the Strait of Sicily.

Within three months of the date of publication of the above Decree in the Official Journal of the European Union, interested bodies may under the rules in force submit applications for authorisation for oil and gas prospection and exploration in the extended areas referred to in paragraph 1 of the Decree.

The legal provisions on granting of mining rights are specified more fully in the following legislation:

Law No 613 of 21 July 1967; Law No 9 of 9 January 1991; Legislative Decree No 625 of 25 November 1996; Ministerial Decree of 4 March 2011 and Directorial Decree of 22 March 2011.

The Ministry of Economic Development — Energy Department, Directorate-General for Mineral and Energy Resources — is the authority competent for granting mining rights.

Applications for authorisations for prospection and exploration must be sent to the following address:

Applications for prospecting and exploration authorisations may also be submitted by e-mail to the following address: ene.rme.div.6@pec.sviluppoeconomico.gov.it; the requisite documents should be submitted in electronic format together with the digital signature of a legal representative of the applicant.

For further information, please contact Liliana Panei (tel. +39 647052794; e-mail: liliana.panei@mise.gov.it).

The boundary of the ‘marine area C — south’ is defined by the following geographical coordinates (triangulation points) taken from the bathymetric chart, Canale di Sicilia dell'Istituto Idrografico della Marina No 1503 with the scale 1:750 000.

From triangulation point 32 to point 1, the boundary of the ‘marine area C — south’ is the 200 m depth curve.