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 an exclusive licence to prospect for oil and gas, designated the ‘Marne Licence’)

(Text with EEA relevance)

2013/C 47/05

On 25 October 2011, the company Elixir Petroleum (Moselle) Ltd applied for an exclusive five-year licence, designated the ‘Marne licence’, to prospect for oil and gas in an area of about 2 668 km2, covering part of the Haute-Marne, Meuse, Meuthe-et-Moselle and Vosges Departments.

The perimeter of the area covered by this licence consists of the meridian and parallel arcs connecting in turn the points defined below by their geographical coordinates in grads, the meridian of origin being the Paris meridian.

Submission of applications and criteria for awarding rights

The initial applicants and competing applicants must prove that they meet the requirements for obtaining the licence, as specified in Articles 4 and 5 of Decree 2006-648 of 2 June 2006 (as amended) concerning mining rights and underground storage rights (Official Journal of the French Republic, 3 June 2006).

Interested companies may, within 90 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, page 11, and established by Decree 2006-648 of 2 June 2006 (as amended) concerning mining rights and underground storage rights (Official Journal of the French Republic, 3 June 2006).

Competing applications are to be sent to the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy at the address indicated below. Decisions on the initial application and competing applications will be taken within two years of the date on which the French authorities received the initial application, i.e. by 8 November 2013 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 French Mining Code and to Decree 2006-649 of 2 June 2006 (as amended) on mining and underground storage operations and the regulations governing mining and underground storage (Official Journal of the French Republic, 3 June 2006).

For further information please contact:

Ministère de l’écologie, du développement durable et de l’énergie, direction de l’énergie, Bureau exploration et production des hydrocarbures, Grande Arche, Paroi Nord, 92055 La Défense cedex, France, Tel. +33 140819527

The abovementioned laws and regulations can be consulted on the Légifrance website: http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr

(1)  OJ L 164, 30.6.1994, p. 3.