EN Official Journal of the European Union C 250/5

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 ‘Provence Licence’)

(Text with EEA relevance)

2009/C 250/05

By request dated 23 October 2008, corrected on 17 April 2009, Queensland Gas Company, a company with registered offices at Level 5, 30 Herschel Street Brisbane, Queensland, 4000 AUSTRALIA, applied for a five-year licence, designated the ‘Provence Licence’, to prospect for oil and gas in an area of approximately 3 430 km2 covering part of the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Alpes de Haute Provence and Vaucluse.

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 in grads (NTF (Nouvelle Triangulation de la France), Paris meridian):

Points Longitude East Latitude North 1 3,30 gr E 48,90 gr N 2 3,70 gr E 48,90 gr N 3 3,70 gr E 48,70 gr N 4 3,60 gr E 48,70 gr N 5 3,60 gr E 48,60 gr N 6 3,50 gr E 48,60 gr N 7 3,50 gr E 48,50 gr N 8 3,40 gr E 48,50 gr N 9 3,40 gr E 48,40 gr N 10 3,30 gr E 48,40 gr N 11 3,30 gr E 48,30 gr N 12 3,20 gr E 48,30 gr N 13 3,20 gr E 48,20 gr N Point 14 = intersection of the parallel 48,20 gr N with the shore of the Mediterranean Point 15 = intersection of the parallel 2,80 gr E with the shore of the Mediterranean 16 2 ,80 gr E 48,30 gr N 17 2,70 gr E 48,30 gr N 18 2,70 gr E 48,40 gr N 19 2,40 gr E 48,40 gr N 20 2,40 gr E 48,50 gr N 21 2,60 gr E 48,50 gr N 22 2,60 gr E 48,60 gr N 23 2,80 gr E 48,60 gr N 24 2,80 gr E 48,70 gr N 25 3,00 gr E 48,70 gr N 26 3,00 gr E 48,80 gr N 27 3,30 gr E 48,80 gr N

Submission of applications and criteria for awarding rights

The initial applicants and competing applicants must meet the requirements specified in Articles 4 and 5 of Decree No 2006-648 of 2 June 2006 on 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 on 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 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 1 February 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 of 3 June 2006).

Further information can be obtained from the Ministry for Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Marine Affairs, responsible for green technologies and climate negotiations (Direction générale de l'énergie et climat, Direction de l'énergie, Sous-direction de la sécurité d'approvisionnement et des nouveaux produits énergétiques bureau exploration production des hydrocarbures), Arche de La Défense, Paroi Nord, 92055 La Défense Cedex, FRANCE, (Tel +33 140819537, Fax +33 140819529).

The abovementioned laws and regulations can be consulted at: Légifrance (http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr).

(1) OJ L 164, 30.6.1994.