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 applications for exclusive licences to prospect for liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons, designated the ‘Permis d’Europa Maritime’ and the ‘Permis d’Europa Maritime Profond’)

(Text with EEA relevance)

2014/C 362/11

On 12 December 2013, the companies MAREX EU INC. and SOUTH ATLANTIC PETROLEUM UN SAS, represented in France by Cabinet BONNA-AUZAS Avocats, address 6, rue Paul Valéry, 75116 Paris, applied for an exclusive five-year licence to prospect for liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons, designated the ‘Permis d’Europa Maritime’.

On 28 February 2014, the company GEOTECH HONGKONG Ltd, represented in France by YB CONSEIL EURL, address 1897, route de Montjoly, RDL Résidence Man CIA — ADC DOM, 97354 Rémire-Montjoly, Cayenne, applied for an exclusive five-year licence to prospect for liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons, designated the ‘Permis d’Europa Maritime Profond’.

The perimeter of these licence applications concerning the exclusive economic area of the island Europa, which is located in the southern part of the Mozambique Channel and belongs to the Scattered French Islands, covers the area demarcated by the straight lines connecting in turn the points defined below by their WGS84 geographical coordinates in sexagesimal degrees, the meridian of origin being the Greenwich meridian:

B to C: limits of the exclusive economic areas of France and Madagascar, to be determined;

D to A: limits of the exclusive economic areas of France and Mozambique, to be determined.

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 No 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 the Official Journal of the European Communities C 374 of 30 December 1994, page 11, and established by Decree No 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 must be sent to the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy at the address given below. Decisions on the initial application and any competing applications will be taken within two years of the date on which the French authorities received the initial application, i.e. by 18 April 2016 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 No 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).

Further information can be obtained from the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy:

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.