EN Official Journal of the European Union C 108/3

Communication from the French Government concerning Directive 94/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 1994 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 (the ‘Échemines Licences’)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2016/C 108/03)

On 26 January 2016 Société pétrolière de production et d’exploitation SAS (ZA Pense Folie, 45220 Château-Renard, France), applied for an exclusive 5-year licence, designated the ‘Échemines licence’, to prospect for oil and gas in part of the Aube and Yonne departments.

The perimeter of the area covered by this licence is demarcated by the straight lines connecting the points defined below:

Point NTF — meridian of origin Paris RGF93 — meridian of origin Greenwich Longitude East Latitude North Longitude East Latitude North A 1,60 gr 53,90 gr 3°46′36″ 48°30′36″ B 1,80 gr 53,90 gr 3°57′24″ 48°30′36″ C 1,80 gr 53,70 gr 3°57′24″ 48°19′48″ D 1,90 gr 53,70 gr 4°02′48″ 48°19′48″ E 1,90 gr 53,50 gr 4°02′48″ 48°09′00″ F 1,50 gr 53,50 gr 3°41′12″ 48°09′00″ G 1,50 gr 53,60 gr 3°41′12″ 48°14′24″ H 1,60 gr 53,60 gr 3°46′36″ 48°14′24″

The area as defined above covers approximately 735 km2.

Submission of applications and criteria for awarding rights

The initial applicants and competing applicants must prove that they meet the requirements for obtaining licences set out in Articles 4 and 5 of Decree No 2006-648 of 2 June 2006 (as amended) on 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, 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 the Environment, Energy and Marine Affairs 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 2 February 2018 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 the Environment, Energy and Marine Affairs at the following address:

Direction générale de l’énergie et du climat — Direction de l’énergie Bureau exploration et production des hydrocarbures Tour Séquoia 1 place Carpeaux 92800 Puteaux FRANCE Tel.: +33 140819527

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.