EN Official Journal of the European Union C 252/5

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

(Notice regarding an application for an exclusive licence to prospect for oil and gas, designated the ‘Trois Évêchés licence’)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2014/C 252/04)

On 3 March 2014, EG Lorraine SAS, a company with registered offices at 1, avenue Saint-Rémy, Espace Pierrard, 57600 Forbach (France), applied for an exclusive five-year licence, designated the ‘Trois Évêchés licence’, to prospect for oil and gas in an area covering part of the Meurthe-et-Moselle and Moselle departments.

Part of the said area overlaps with the area specified in the ‘de l’Albe’ and ‘de la Seille’ licence applications, the competition notice for which appeared in the Official Journal of the European Union C 354 of 4 December 2013, while other parts are outside that area.

This notice concerns only the parts that do not overlap with that area, totalling approximately 1 250 km2.

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

Top level NTF meridian of origin Paris RGF93 meridian of origin Greenwich Longitude Latitude Longitude Latitude 1 4,00 gr E 54,70 gr N 5° 56′ 12″ 49° 13′ 48″ 2 4,30 gr E 54,70 gr N 6° 12′ 24″ 49° 13′ 48″ 3 4,30 gr E 54,80 gr N 6° 12′ 24″ 49° 19′ 12″ 4 4,70 gr E 54,80 gr N 6° 34′ 00″ 49° 19′ 12″ 5 4,70 gr E 54,50 gr N 6° 34′ 00″ 49° 03′ 00″ 6 4,10 gr E 54,50 gr N 6° 01′ 36″ 48° 46′ 48″ 7 4,10 gr E 54,40 gr N 6° 01′ 36″ 48° 57′ 36″ 8 4,00 gr E 54,40 gr N 5° 56′ 12″ 48° 57′ 36″

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 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 of 30 December 1994, p. 11, and established by 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).

Competing applications must be sent to the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy 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 4 March 2016 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 Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy (Ministère de l’écologie, du développement durable et de l’énergie):

Direction générale de l’énergie et du climat — Direction de l’énergie Bureau exploration et production des hydrocarbures Tour Séquoïa 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