The Minister for Climate Policy and Green Growth hereby gives notice that an application has been received for authorisation to prospect for hydrocarbons in block F9 as indicated on the map appended as Annex 3 to the Mining Regulation (Mijnbouwregeling). Block F9 covers an area of 400 km2.

With reference to the Directive referred to in the preamble and Article 15 of the Mining Act (Mijnbouwwet), the Minister for Climate Policy and Green Growth hereby invites interested parties to submit a competing application for authorisation to prospect for hydrocarbons in block F9 of the Dutch continental shelf.

The Minister for Climate Policy and Green Growth is the competent authority for the granting of authorisations. The criteria, conditions and requirements referred to in Articles 5(1) and (2) and 6(2) of the above-mentioned Directive are set out in the Mining Act.

Applications may be submitted during the 13 weeks following the publication of this notice in the Official Journal of the European Union and should be sent to:

Email: mijnbouwvergunningen@minezk.nl

Applications received after the expiry of this period will not be considered.

A decision on the applications will in principle be taken not later than 12 months after this period has expired.

Further information can be obtained by calling the MABEL office on the following telephone number: Tel. +31 703796970