EN Official Journal of the European Union C 203/8

DECISION No 234

of 6 April 2009

on the opening of a procedure for granting authorisation for prospecting and exploration of oil and gas — underground natural resources in accordance with Article 2(1)(3) of the Underground Natural Resources Act, at Block 1-16 ‘Gradishte’, located in the provinces of Lovech, Gabrovo and Veliko Tarnovo and notification concerning the envisaged competition for granting of authorisation

2009/C 203/06

REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

Pursuant to Article 5(2), Article 42(1)(1) and Article 44(3) of the Underground Natural Resources Act, and having regard to Article 4(2)(16) and Section 1(24a) of the Energy Act,

THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS HAS DECIDED:

1. to open a procedure for granting authorisation for prospecting and exploration of crude oil and natural gas at Block 1-16 ‘Gradishte’, with a surface area of 1 885,04 km2 and with coordinates 1 to 19 in accordance with the Annex, which excludes the ‘Kilifarevo’ area;

2. to announce that the granting of authorisation pursuant to point 1 will be based on a competition;

3. to specify that the period covered by the authorisation for prospecting and exploration will be five years after the date of the entry into force of the prospecting and exploration contract, with a right to extension of this period pursuant to Article 31(3) of the Underground Natural Resources Act;

4. the competition for granting of authorisation pursuant to point 1 will take place on the 150th day after the date of publication of this Decision in the Official Journal of the European Union, at the building of the Ministry of Economy and Energy, Triaditza Street No 8, Sofia, BULGARIA;

5. the deadline for purchasing the competition dossier is 17:00 on the 120th day after the date of publication of this Decision in the Official Journal of the European Union;

6. the deadline for submission of notifications for participation in the competition is 17:00 on the 130th day after the date of publication of this Decision in the Official Journal of the European Union;

7. the deadline for submission of applications for the competition is 17:00 on the 144th day after the date of publication of this Decision in the Official Journal of the European Union;

8. the competition will not require personal presence;

9. the price of the competition dossier is set at BGN 500 (500 Bulgarian leva). The competition dossier can be purchased from room No 802 at the Ministry of Economy and Energy, Triaditza Street No 8, Sofia, BULGARIA, during the period laid down in point 5;

10. the participants in the competition must comply with the requirements specified in Article 23(1) of the Underground Natural Resources Act;

11. the applications of the participants in the competition will be evaluated on the basis of the proposed work programmes, environmental protection instruments and training instruments, bonuses, and also according to their managerial and financial capacities;

12. the deposit for participation in the competition is set at BGN 10 000 (10 000 Bulgarian leva) and should be paid before the deadline specified in point 6 to the bank account of the Ministry of Economy and Energy, as stated in the competition dossier;

13. in the case of non-admission of an applicant to the competition, the deposit shall be reimbursed within a period of 14 days after the date on which the applicant is notified of non-admission;

14. the deposit of the successful applicant will be retained and the deposits of all other applicants will be reimbursed within a period of 14 days after the publication of the Decision of the Council of Ministers for granting of authorisation for prospecting and exploration in the State Gazette;

15. the notifications for participation in the competition and the proposals from the applicants concerning the conditions of the competition should be submitted to the Ministry of Economy and Energy, Triaditza Street No 8, in accordance with the requirements of Article 46 of the Underground Natural Resources Act;

16. the applications for the competition should comply with the requirements and conditions indicated in the competition dossier;

17. the competition can take place even if only one applicant is admitted to participate;

18. the Minister of Economy and Energy is authorised as follows: 18.1. to send the text of this Decision for publication in the Official Journal of the European Union and in the State Gazette, and also on the website of the Council of Ministers; 18.2. to appoint a committee to arrange and conduct the competition;

19. appeals against this Decision can be addressed to the Supreme Administrative Court within 14 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Prime Minister Sergei STANISHEV Principal Secretary of the Council of Ministers Vesselin DAKOV True copy Director of the Cabinet Office Vesselin DAKOV