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 and gaseous hydrocarbons, designated the ‘Cévennes licence’, the ‘Alès licence’ and the ‘Navacelles licence’)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2008/C 309/10)

On 6 December 2007, Cévennes Petroleum Development Ltd, a company with registered offices at Wembley Point, 1 Harrow Road, Wembley, Middlesex, HA9 6DE (United Kingdom), applied for an exclusive five-year licence, designated the ‘Cévennes Licence’, to prospect for oil and gas in an area of approximately 4 323 km2 covering part of the departments of Ardèche, Gard and Herault. The application was supplemented on 13 June 2008.

On 8 April 2008, Schuepbach Energy LLC, a company with registered offices at 2651 North Harwood, Suite 570, Dallas, TX-75201 (United States), applied for an exclusive three-year licence, designated the ‘Alès Licence’, to prospect for oil and gas in an area of approximately 9 810 km2 covering part of the departments of Ardèche, Aveyron, Drome, Gard, Herault, Lozère and Vaucluse. The perimeter of the area covered by this application is partly included in the Cévennes application.

On 15 May 2008, Egdon Resources (New Ventures) Ltd, a company with registered offices at Suite 2, 90-96 High Street, Odiham, Hampshire, RG29 1LP (United Kingdom), Eagle Energy Limited, a company with registered offices at 21 Beresford Avenue, East Twickenham, TW1 2PY (United Kingdom), and YCI Resources Ltd, a company with registered offices at Blackstable House, Sheepscombe, Stroud, GL6 3UW (United Kingdom), applied for an exclusive five-year licence, designated the ‘Navacelles Licence’, to prospect for oil and gas in an area of approximately 576 km2 covering part of the departments of Ardèche and Gard. The perimeter of the area covered by this application is included in the above applications.

The perimeter of the area covered by all of these applications for licences consists of the meridian and parallel arcs connecting in turn the vertices defined below by their geographical coordinates in degrees, 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 for obtaining the licence specified in Articles 4 and 5 of Decree No 2006-648 of 2 June 2006 concerning mining rights and underground storage rights (Journal officiel de la République française of 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 30.12.1994, p. 11, and established by Decree No 2006-648 concerning 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, as set out in Article 6 of the abovementioned Decree, and will be taken by 8 April 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 (code minier) and to Decree No 2006-649 of 2 June 2006 on mining and underground storage operations and the regulations governing mining and underground storage (décret relatif aux travaux miniers, aux travaux de stockage souterrain et à la police des mines et des stockages souterrains) (Journal officiel de la République française of 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 climat, direction de l'énergie, Sous-direction de la Sécurité d'Approvisionnement et des Nouveaux Produits Energétiques, bureau exploration production des hydrocarbures), 41, boulevard Vincent Auriol, F-75703 Paris Cedex 13 (tel. (33) 153 94 14 81, fax (33) 153 94 14 40).

The laws and regulations referred to above can be consulted at:

http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr

(1)  OJ L 164, 30.6.1994, p. 3.