Energy Act 2016

19 Qualifying disputes and relevant parties

(1) For the purposes of this Chapter, a dispute is a qualifying dispute if—

(a) the dispute relates to qualifying issues, and

(b) the parties to the dispute include at least one relevant party.

(2) In this Chapter, “qualifying issues” means issues which—

(a) are relevant to the fulfilment of the principal objective, or

(b) relate to activities carried out under an offshore licence,

and are not the subject of a section 82 application.

(3) If a dispute relates in part to qualifying issues and in part to other issues, the dispute is a qualifying dispute only to the extent that it relates to the qualifying issues.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (2), an issue is the subject of a section 82 application if—

(a) an application has been made under section 82(4) of the Energy Act 2011 (acquisition of rights to use upstream petroleum infrastructure) in connection with the issue, and

(b) the OGA has made a decision under section 82(6)(a)(iii) of that Act to consider the application further.

(5) In this Chapter “relevant party” to a dispute means a party to the dispute who is a relevant person.