EN Official Journal of the European Union C 16/19

Communication from Iceland pursuant to Directive 94/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conditions for granting and using authorizations for the prospection, exploration and production of hydrocarbons

Announcement of the first Licensing Round 2009 — Continental Shelf between Iceland and Jan Mayen ‘The Dreki Area’

(2009/C 16/06)

The National Energy Authority of Iceland (NEA), by the authority of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, hereby announces an invitation to interested parties to submit applications for hydrocarbon exploration and production licenses on ‘The Dreki Area’ in accordance with Article 3(2)(a) of Directive 94/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 1994 on the conditions for granting and using authorizations for the prospection, exploration and production of hydrocarbons.

The Licensing round is organized by the NEA in accordance with and shall be subject to the provisions of Act No 13 of 13 March 2001 (Government Gazette (Stjórnartíðindi), 16 May 2001) on Prospection, Exploration and Production of Hydrocarbons (the Hydrocarbons Act), with subsequent amendments, as well as such rules and regulations (the Hydrocarbons Regulations) issued by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism in accordance with the Hydrocarbons Act.

The National Energy Authority is the competent authority for the granting of authorisations. The criteria, conditions, and requirements referred to in Articles 5(1), 5(2) and 6(2) of Directive 94/22/EC are set out in the above-mentioned legal instruments.

In addition to the Hydrocarbons Act and the Hydrocarbons Regulations, the Agreement of 22 October 1981 between Norway and Iceland on the Continental Shelf Between Iceland and Jan Mayen, the Agreement between Norway and Iceland concerning transboundary hydrocarbon deposits of 3 November 2008 and the Agreed Minutes of the same date concerning the Right of Participation pursuant to Articles 5 and 6 of the Agreement from 1981, apply to the relevant parts of the area offered for the licensing.

Applications for exploration and production licenses may be submitted for the following blocks or parts of blocks in ‘The Dreki Area’.

IS6706/1 (part), 4 (part), 5 (part), 7, 8 (part), 10, 11 (part), 12 (part)

IS6707/1, 2, 3 (part), 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

IS6708/1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

IS6709/1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

IS6710/1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

IS6711/2 (part), 3, 5 (part), 6, 8 (part), 9, 11 (part), 12

IS6807/4 (part), 7 (part), 8 (part), 10, 11 (part), 12 (part)

IS6808/1 (part), 2 (part), 4, 5 (part), 6 (part), 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

IS6809/1, 2, 3 (part), 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

IS6810/1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

IS6811/2 (part), 3, 5 (part), 6, 8 (part), 9, 11 (part), 12

IS6909/10 (part), 11 (part), 12 (part)

IS6910/7 (part), 8 (part), 9 (part), 10, 11, 12 (part)

IS6911/8 (part), 9 (part), 11 (part), 12

Individual applications for licenses may cover one or more of the blocks or part of blocks, up to a maximum of 800 km2. The number of licenses on offer is up to five (5) as a maximum. Applicants are encouraged to nominate a secondary area in case of an area of first choice overlapping with other applications.

Applicants for hydrocarbon exploration and production licenses shall be submitted to the NEA:

The National Energy Authority (NEA) Grensasvegi 9 108 — Reykjavik Iceland Website: www.nea.is Tel. (354) 569 60 00 Fax (354) 568 88 96

Full details and all the relevant documents, including lists and maps of the area on offer and guidance about licenses, the terms which those licenses will include, and how to apply, are available on the following web address:

http://www.nea.is/licencinground2009

or by contacting the NEA at the address above.

The award of exploration and production licenses in the first Licensing Round 2009 on ‘The Dreki Area’ is planned to take place before the end of October 2009.

Closing date of the Licensing Round — Continental Shelf between Iceland and Jan Mayen ‘The Dreki Area’ is: 15 May 2009.

Northern Dreki Area on the Icelandic Continental Shelf between Iceland and Jan Mayen. The boundary of the Agreement Area from 1981 (as referred to in paragraph 4) between Iceland and Norway shown by green, dashed line.