EN Official Journal of the European Union C 57/16

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, entitled the ‘Marges du Finistère Licence’)

(Text with EEA relevance)

2010/C 57/11

By request dated 15 September 2009, GTO Ltd, a company with registered offices at Trafalgar House, 11 Waterloo Place, London SW1Y 4AU UNITED KINGDOM, applied for an exclusive five-year licence, designated the ‘Marges du Finistère Licence’, to prospect for oil and gas in an area of approximately 21 000 km2 in the Department of Finistère.

The perimeter of the area covered by this licence is made up of the meridian and parallel arcs successively joining the points defined below by their geographical coordinates, the original meridian being that of Paris for coordinates expressed in grads and that of Greenwich for coordinates expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds (given for information):

Point A : intersection of the meridian 12,60 gr W (9° 00′ 00″ W) with the division between the French and British continental shelves. Point B : intersection of the meridian 8,70 gr W (5° 30′ 00″ W) with the division between the French and British continental shelves.

Point Longitude Latitude C 8,70 gr W (5° 30′ 00″ W) 53,30 gr N (48° 00′ 00″ N) D 12,60 gr W (9° 00′ 00″ W) 53,30 gr N (48° 00′ 00″ N)

Points A-B = the division between the French and British continental shelves.

Submission of applications and criteria for awarding rights

The initial applicant 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 concerning mining rights and underground storage rights (Journal officiel de la République française, 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 No 2006-648 of 2 June 2006 on mining rights and underground storage rights (Journal officiel de la République française, 3 June 2006).

Competing applications must be sent to the Minister responsible for mines at the address 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 15 September 2011 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 (Journal officiel de la République française, 3 June 2006).

Further information can be obtained from the following address:

Ministère de l'écologie, de l’énergie, du développement durable et de la mer, Direction générale de l'énergie et du climat, Direction de l’énergie, Sous-direction de la sécurité d’approvisionnement et nouveaux produits énergétiques Grande Arche — Paroi Nord, 92055 La Défense Cedex, FRANCE Tel. +33 140819529. The abovementioned laws and regulations can be consulted on Légifrance: http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr

(1) OJ L 164, 30.6.1994, p. 3.