EN Official Journal of the European Union C 267/36

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 ‘Nogent-sur-Seine Licence’)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2007/C 267/12)

By application of 21 May 2007, Toreador Energy France S C S, a company with registered offices at 9, rue Scribe, F-75009 Paris, applied for an exclusive four-year licence, designated the ‘Nogent-sur-Seine Licence’, to prospect for liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in an area of approximately 398 square kilometres covering part of the departments of Aube, Marne and Seine-et-Marne.

This request partially overlaps with the application dated 28 February 2007 submitted by Renouveau Energie Ressources, a company with registered offices at 16, rue de Vivienne, F-75002 Paris, for a licence, designated the ‘La Folie de Paris Licence’, to prospect for liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in an area of approximately 962 square kilometres covering part of the departments of Seine-et-Marne, Marne and Aube.

This notice concerns only the area which is not the subject of the overlap. The perimeter of that area is made up of the meridian and parallel arcs successively joining the vertices defined below by their geographical coordinates, the original meridian being that of Paris.

Vertices Longitude Latitude A 1,10 °E 53,90 °N B 1,30 °E 53,90 °N C 1,30 °E 53,80 °N D 1,10 °E 53,80 °N

Submission of applications

The initial applicant and competing applicants must prove that they meet the requirements, as specified in Articles 4 and 5 of Decree No 2006-648 of 2 June 2006 concerning mining rights and underground storage rights (Journal officiel de la République française of 3 June 2006).

Interested companies may, within a period of ninety 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, p. 11, and established by Decree No 2006-648 concerning mining rights and underground storage rights (décret relatif aux titres miniers et aux titres de stockage souterrain). Competing applications must be sent to the Minister responsible for mines at the address below.

Criteria and deadline for awarding rights

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 within two years of the date on which the French authorities received the La Folie de Paris Licence, i.e. by 2 March 2009 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 (décret relatif aux travaux miniers, aux travaux de stockage souterrain et à la police des mines et des stockages souterrains) (Journal officiel de la République française of 3 June 2006).

Further information can be obtained from the Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development: Ministère de l'écologie, du développement et de l'aménagement durables (direction générale de l'énergie et des matières premières, direction des ressources énergétiques et minérales, bureau de la législation minière), 61, boulevard Vincent Auriol, Télédoc 133, F-75703 Paris Cedex 13 (Telephone (33) 144 97 23 02 or (33) 153 94 14 72, fax (33) 144 97 05 70)).

The abovementioned laws and regulations can be consulted at:

http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr

(1) OJ L 164, 30.6.1994, p. 3.