EN Official Journal of the European Union C 27/12

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 or gaseous hydrocarbons, designated the ‘Bussy-Lettrée Licence’, the ‘Arcis-sur-Aube Licence’, ‘the Vatry Licence’, ‘the Coole Licence’, ‘the Champagne Licence’, ‘the Soudé Licence’, the ‘St-Chéron Licence’, ‘the Templiers Licence’, and ‘the Camp de Mailly Licence’)

(Text with EEA relevance)

2012/C 27/06

By request of 30 June 2010, Concorde Energy, Inc., represented by Mr Marc FEUGÈRE from SP2 MARC, with registered offices at 36, rue du Dr Le Savoureux, 92290 Châtenay-Malabry, France, applied for an exclusive five-year licence, designated the ‘Bussy-Lettrée Licence’, to prospect for liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in an area of approximately 202 km2 covering part of the departments of Aube (10) and Marne (51). This is the initial application.

By request of 27 August 2010, Noreco Arcis-sur-Aube Sarl, represented by Ms Laure BONNA-BOUCHER and Ms Audrey GROSSET from the law firm Grand, Auzas & Assoc., with registered offices at 6, rue Paul Valéry, 75116 Paris, France, applied for an exclusive five-year licence, designated the ‘Arcis-sur-Aube Licence’, to prospect for liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in an area of approximately 829 km2 covering part of the departments of Aube (10) and Marne (51).

By request of 26 October 2010, Vermilion REP SAS, with registered offices at B.P. 5, 40161 Parentis-en-Born, France, applied for an exclusive five-year licence, designated the ‘Vatry Licence’, to prospect for liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in an area of approximately 122 km2 covering part of the departments of Aube (10) and Marne (51).

By request of 15 December 2010, Toreador Energy France SCS, at 9, rue Scribe, 75009 Paris, France and Hess Oil France SAS, at 27, avenue de l’Opéra, 75001 Paris, France applied jointly and severally for an exclusive five-year licence, designated the ‘Coole Licence’, to prospect for liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in an area of approximately 841 km2 covering part of the departments of Aube (10) and Marne (51).

By request of 17 December 2010, Basgas Energia France SAS, with registered offices at Tour Pacific — 11, cours Valmy, 92290 Paris-La Défense, France, applied for an exclusive five-year licence, designated the ‘Champagne Licence’, to prospect for liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in an area of approximately 1 687 km2 covering part of the departments of Aube (10), Marne (51) and Haute-Marne (52).

By request of 1 June 2011, Bluebach Ressources Sarl, with registered offices at 178, Boulevard Haussmann, 75008 Paris, France, applied for an exclusive five-year licence, designated the ‘Soudé Licence’, to prospect for liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in an area of approximately 911 km2 covering part of the departments of Aube (10) and Marne (51).

By request of 14 June 2011, Bluebach Ressources Sarl, with registered offices at 178, Boulevard Haussmann, 75008 Paris, France, applied for an exclusive five-year licence, designated the ‘Saint-Chéron Licence’, to prospect for liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in an area of approximately 1 219 km2 covering part of the departments of Aube (10), Marne (51), Haute-Marne (52) and Meuse (55).

By request of 6 September 2011, Lundin International SA, with registered offices at Maclaunay, 51210 Montmirail, France, applied for an exclusive five-year licence, designated the ‘Templiers Licence’, to prospect for liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in an area of approximately 1 066 km2 covering part of the departments of Aube (10) and Marne (51).

By request of 15 September 2011, Lundin International SA, with registered offices at Maclaunay, 51210 Montmirail, France applied for an exclusive five-year licence, designated the ‘Camp de Mailly Licence’, to prospect for liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in an area of approximately 699 km2 covering part of the departments of Aube (10) and Marne (51).

The perimeter of the area covered by these applications for licences consists of the meridian and parallel arcs connecting in turn the points defined below by their geographical coordinates, the meridian of origin being the Paris meridian.

Point Longitude grad East Latitude grad North A 02,00 54,30 B 02,20 54,30 C 02,20 54,20 D 02,30 54,20 E 02,30 54,10 F 02,42 54,10 G 02,42 54,08 H 02,44 54,08 I 02,44 54,07 J 02,48 54,07 K 02,48 54,10 L 02,50 54,10 M 02,50 54,20 N 02,90 54,20 O 02,90 54,19 P 02,89 54,19 Q 02,89 54,18 R 02,88 54,18 S 02,88 54,15 T 02,87 54,15 U 02,87 54,11 V 02,88 54,11 W 02,88 54,10 X 02,89 54,10 Y 02,89 54,09 Z 02,92 54,09 AA 02,92 54,08 AB 02,96 54,08 AC 02,96 54,07 AD 02,98 54,07 AE 02,98 54,06 AF 02,99 54,06 AG 02,99 54,05 AH 03,00 54,05 AI 03,00 54,00 AJ 03,10 54,00 AK 03,10 53,90 AL 02,80 53,90 AM 02,80 53,80 AN 02,50 53,80 AO 02,50 53,70 AP 01,80 53,70 AQ 01,80 53,90 AR 01,90 53,90 AS 01,90 54,00 AT 02,03 54,00 AU 02,03 53,97 AV 02,13 53,97 AW 02,13 53,98 AX 02,15 53,98 AY 02,15 54,02 AZ 02,10 54,02 BA 02,10 54,17 BB 02,12 54,17 BC 02,12 54,18 BD 02,13 54,18 BE 02,13 54,19 BF 02,14 54,19 BG 02,14 54,22 BH 02,12 54,22 BI 02,12 54,21 BJ 02,10 54,21 BK 02,10 54,27 BL 02,00 54,27

Submission of applications and criteria for awarding rights

The initial applicants and competing applicants must prove that they meet the requirements for obtaining the licence, as specified in Articles 4 and 5 of Decree 2006-648 of 2 June 2006 concerning 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 of 30 December 1994, page 11, and established by Decree 2006-648 of 2 June 2006 concerning mining rights and underground storage rights (Official Journal of the French Republic, 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 5 July 2012 at the latest.

The geographical coordinates of the applications can be viewed on the website of the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing at: http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/Les-publications-et-les.html

Conditions and requirements regarding performance of the activity and cessation thereof

Applicants are referred to Article 79 and Article 79(1) of the French Mining Code and to Decree 2006-649 of 2 June 2006 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 following address:

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 (telephone: +33 140819529).

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.