EN Official Journal of the European Union C 92/8

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 oil and gas, designated the ‘Herbsheim Licences’)

(Text with EEA relevance)

2012/C 92/06

On 19 October 2011, Bluebach Ressources Sarl, a company with registered offices at 178, boulevard Haussmann, 75008 Paris, France, applied for an exclusive five-year licence, designated the ‘Herbsheim Licence’, to prospect for oil and gas in the territory of the Department of Bas-Rhin.

The perimeter of the area covered by this licence consists of the meridian and parallel arcs connecting in turn the points defined below by their geographical coordinates in grads, the meridian of origin being the Paris meridian.

Point Longitude East Latitude North A 5,90 53,90 B 6,00 53,90 C Intersection of the meridian 6,00 gr E with the border between France and Germany D Intersection of the parallel 53,60 gr N with the border between France and Germany E 5,60 53,60 F 5,60 53,70 G 5,70 53,70 H 5,70 53,80 I 5,90 53,80

A to B: border between France and Germany.

The area as defined above is about 506 km2.

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 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 21 October 2013 at the latest.

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 Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing at 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 de la Défense — Paroi Nord, 92055 La Défense cedex, France (tel: +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.