EN Official Journal of the European Union C 172/13

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 an application for an exclusive licence to prospect for liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons, designated ‘Permis de Coulommiers’)

(Text with EEA relevance)

2009/C 172/08

On 12 December 2008, Sterling Resources (UK) Ltd, a company with its registered office at Harbour Court, Compass Road, North Harbour, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO6 4ST, UNITED KINGDOM and Petro Ventures International Ltd, a company with its registered office at Unit 15, Level 1, 51-53 Kewdale Road, Welshpool, Western Australia 6106, AUSTRALIA, jointly and severally applied for an exclusive four-year licence, designated ‘Permis de Coulommiers’, to prospect for oil and gas in an area covering part of the departments of Seine-et-Marne, Aisne, Marne and Oise.

The perimeter of the area covered by this licence consists of the meridian and parallel arcs successively joining the points defined below by their geographical coordinates in grads, the prime meridian being that of Paris.

Point Longitude Latitude A 54,60° N 0,60° E B 54,60° N 1,10° E C 54,50° N 1,10° E D 54,50° N 0,80° E E 54,30° N 0,80° E F 54,30° N 1,25° E G 54,22° N 1,25° E H 54,22° N 1,27° E I 54,20° N 1,27° E J 54,20° N 0,92° E K 54,21° N 0,92° E L 54,21° N 0,90° E M 54,22° N 0,90° E N 54,22° N 0,81° E O 54,20° N 0,81° E P 54,20° N 0,70° E Q 54,33° N 0,70° E R 54,33° N 0,71° E S 54,34° N 0,71° E T 54,34° N 0,73° E U 54,35° N 0,73° E V 54,35° N 0,74° E W 54,37° N 0,74° E X 54,37° N 0,70° E Y 54,50° N 0,70° E Z 54,50° N 0,60° E

The perimeter thus defined encompasses an area of approximately 808 square kilometres.

This application competes in part with that of Champrose, submitted by POROS SAS, for which the competition notice was published in the OJEU on 27 February 2009, and that of Coulommiers, submitted by Toreador Energy France, for which the competition notice was published in the OJEU on 25 April 2009. This notice concerns areas which were not included in the Champrose and Coulommiers licence applications. These areas form two blocs, the perimeters of which consist of the meridians and parallels joining the vertices whose geographical coordinates are specified below, the meridian of origin being the Paris meridian.

PERIMETER A

Point Latitude Longitude A 54,60° N 0,60° E B 54,60° N 1,10° E C 54,50° N 1,10° E D 54,50° N 0,80° E E 54,40° N 0,80° E F 54,40° N 0,70° E G 54,50° N 0,70° E H 54,50° N 0,60° E





PERIMETER B

Point Latitude Longitude I 54,30° N 1,10° E J 54,30° N 1,25° E K 54,22° N 1,25° E L 54,22° N 1,27° E M 54,20° N 1,27° E N 54,20° N 1,10° E

Submission of applications

The initial applicant and the competing applicants must prove that they comply with the requirements for obtaining the licence, as specified in Articles 4, 5 and 6 of Decree No 2006-648 of 2 June 2006 on mining rights and underground storage rights (Official Journal of the French Republic of 3 June 2006).

Interested companies may, within 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 of 2 June 2006 on mining rights and underground storage rights. Competing applications must be sent to the Minister responsible for mines at the address below. Decisions on the initial application and competing applications must be taken within two years of the date on which the French authorities received the initial application, i.e. by 15 December 2010 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 and to Decree No 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 of 3 June 2006).

Further information can be obtained from the following address: Ministère de l'écologie, de l’énergie du développement durable et de l’aménagement du territoire (direction générale de l'énergie et du climat, direction de l’énergie, bureau exploration et production des hydrocarbures), Arche de la Défense, Paroi Nord, 92055 La Défense Cedex, (tel. +33 140819537, fax +33 140819529).

The above-mentioned laws and regulations can be consulted at http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr

(1) OJ L 164, 30.6.1994.