These Regulations may be cited as the Petroleum Licensing (Applications) Regulations 2015, and come into force on 30th June 2015.

In these Regulations—

• “application notice” means a notice published in the F21relevant Gazette and on a public web site which—

  1. a

     indicates that the F2OGA is prepared to accept applications for petroleum exploration and development licences or seaward area production licences in respect of blocks, and

  2. b

     specifies the web site on which details of the blocks are published;

• “block” means an area to which a reference number has been assigned and published on a web site by the F3OGA;

• F14“landward area” means an area of Great Britain that is within the baselines established by any Order in Council under section 1(1)(b) of the Territorial Sea Act 1987 (extension of territorial sea);

• “landward petroleum exploration licence” means a licence to search for petroleum in a landward area;

• F15“low water line” means the line so marked on the Ordnance map on a scale of 1:25,000 in the case of maps relating to Great Britain, and 1:50,000 in the case of maps relating to Northern Ireland, in the edition for the areas to which they respectively relate last published prior to the date on which these Regulations are made;

• “methane drainage licence” means a licence to get natural gas in the course of operations for making and keeping safe mines whether or not disused;

• “model clauses” in relation to a licence means the model clauses prescribed under section 4(1)(e) of the Petroleum Act 1998 to be incorporated in licences of that type;

• F13“multiple phase licence” means a seaward area production licence in which, in accordance with the model clauses or clauses having a similar effect, at least one of Phase A or Phase B (within the meaning given by the model clauses) is specified;

• F4“the OGA” means the Oil and Gas Authority;

• “petroleum exploration and development licence” means a licence to search and bore for, and get, petroleum in a landward area;

• F22“relevant Gazette” means—

  1. a

     the London Gazette for any notice inviting applications for licences in a landward area;

  2. b

     the Belfast Gazette, Edinburgh Gazette and London Gazette for any notice inviting applications for licences in a seaward area.

• F12...

• “seaward area” means—

  1. a

     F16islands on the seaward side of the baselines around Great Britain established by any Order in Council under section 1(1)(b) of the Territorial Sea Act 1987,

  2. b

     an area in the sea bed and subsoil beneath waters which lie on the seaward side of the said lines but within the outward limit of the territorial sea of the United Kingdom, and

  3. c

     an area in the sea bed and subsoil within any area designated under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964 M1;

• “seaward petroleum exploration licence” means a licence to search for petroleum in any seaward area or landward area below the low water line;

• “seaward area production licence” means a licence to search and bore for, and get, petroleum in a seaward area;

• “work programme” means a scheme of prospecting including any geological survey by any physical or chemical means and any test drilling.

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Every licence must incorporate the model clauses prescribed for that type of licence at the time that the licence is issued, unless the F11OGA thinks fit to modify or exclude them in any particular case.