SCHEDULE
Regulation 3(1)
SCHEDULE
1. Interpretation etc.
(1) In this licence, the following expressions have the following meanings—
“consent” means consent in writing;
“Crown lease” means a lease of property forming part of the Crown Estate, or an authorisation to exercise rights forming part of that Estate (and includes a Crown lease which has or may be granted);
“Exploration Period” means (subject to clause 4(1)) the period, if any, which is—
(a) specified as such in Schedule 3; or
(b) determined in accordance with provisions of that Schedule;
“gas” means any combustible substance which is gaseous at a temperature of 15° C and a pressure of 101.325 kPa (1013.25 mb) and which consists wholly or mainly of methane, ethane, propane, or butane (or of a mixture of two or more of those substances);
“good storage practice” means the exercise of that degree of skill, diligence, prudence and foresight which would reasonably and ordinarily be expected from a skilled and experienced operator engaged in an activity authorised by or under this licence;
“Lease” means a Crown lease specified in Schedule 2;
“Licence Period” means (subject to clause 3(2)) the period specified as such in Schedule 3;
“Licensed Area” means the area (or, as the case may be, volume) in which the Licensee may for the time being exercise rights granted by a Lease;
“the Licensee” means the person (or all the persons) specified in Schedule 1 as licence holder (or joint licence holders);
“the Minister” means the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change;
“Petroleum” includes any mineral oil or relative hydrocarbon and natural gas existing in its natural condition in strata but does not include coal or bituminous shales or other stratified deposits from which oil can be extracted by destructive distillation;
“Start Date” means the date specified as such in Schedule 3;
“Well” includes borehole;
“Work Programme” means the programme (if any) set out in Schedule 4.
(2) Any reference in this licence to a clause or a Schedule is a reference to a clause of, or Schedule to, this licence; and any reference in a clause to a paragraph is to a paragraph of that clause.
(3) Any obligations which are to be observed and performed by the Licensee shall at any time at which the Licensee is more than one person be joint and several obligations.
2. Licensed Activities
(1) This licence, which is granted on the terms and subject to the conditions set out below, authorises the Licensee to carry on within the Licensed Area the activities mentioned in paragraph (2).
(2) The licensed activities are—
(a)
(a) the storage of gas;
(b)
(b) the recovery of the gas stored;
(c)
(c) the conversion of a natural feature for the purpose of storing gas;
(d)
(d) exploration with a view to, or in connection with, the carrying on of activities within sub-paragraphs (a) to (c);
(e)
(e) the establishment or maintenance of installations for the purposes of activities within sub-paragraphs (a) to (d).
3. Term of Licence
(1) This licence shall commence with the Start Date, and (unless terminated or revoked in accordance with its provisions) shall continue until the end of the Licence Period.
(2) Where an application is made to the Minister not later than three months before the end of the Licence Period, the Minister may decide that the Licence Period is to be extended for such further period as the Minister and the Licensee may agree.
(3) The extension may be made subject to such modification of the terms and conditions of this licence as the Minister considers appropriate; and (subject to any such modification) this clause shall apply to the Licence Period as so extended.
(4) This licence shall in any event terminate if, at any time—
(a)
(a) a Lease that has been granted has expired, or been determined or revoked; and
(b)
(b) no rights are then exercisable under any other Lease.
4. Extension of Exploration Period
(1) Where an application is made to the Minister not later than two months before the end of the Exploration Period, the Minister may decide that the Exploration Period is to be extended for such further period as the Minister and the Licensee may agree.
(2) The extension may be made subject to such modification of the terms and conditions of this licence as the Minister considers appropriate; and (subject to any such modification) this clause shall apply to the Exploration Period as so extended.
5. Right of Licensee to terminate Licence
(1) The Licensee may at any time by giving to the Minister not less than one month’s notice in writing to that effect terminate this licence; but such termination does not affect any obligation imposed upon, or liability incurred by, the Licensee under the terms and conditions of this Licence.
(2) Where two or more persons are the Licensee, one of those persons may at any time by giving to the Minister not less than one month’s notice in writing to that effect terminate this licence in so far as it applies to that person, and in that case—
(a)
(a) the authorisation granted to the person under this licence ceases, but this does not affect any obligation imposed upon, or liability incurred by, that person under the terms and conditions of this Licence; and
(b)
(b) the Licence continues to have effect in respect of the other person who constitutes, or persons who together constitute, the Licensee and in relation to whom it is not terminated.
6. Provision of contact details to Minister
(1) A notice, direction or other document authorised or required (in whatever terms) to be given to the Licensee by virtue of this licence is treated as given to the Licensee if it is given to the person specified by the Licensee under paragraph (2) at the address so specified.
(2) The Licensee must supply the Minister with the name and address of a person to whom notices, directions and other documents are to be given.
(3) The Licensee must ensure that, where there is a change in the person to whom, or the address to which, information should be sent in accordance with paragraph (2), the Minister is notified of the change as soon as is reasonably practicable.
(4) If the Licensee fails to comply with paragraph (2) the Minister may give the Licensee a notice which—
(a)
(a) requires the Licensee to comply with paragraph (2) within the period of 30 days beginning with the date of the notice; and
(b)
(b) states that, if the Licensee fails to do so, the Licensee will be treated as having supplied under paragraph (2) the name and address specified by the Minister in the notice.
7. Working obligations
(1) If a Work Programme is set out in Schedule 4, the Licensee shall before the expiry of the Exploration Period carry out the Work Programme.
(2) If at any time the Minister serves a notice in writing on the Licensee requiring the Licensee to submit to the Minister, before a date specified in the notice, an appropriate programme for exploring for places for gas storage in the Licensed Area during a period so specified, the Licensee shall comply with the notice.
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)—
(a)
(a) an appropriate programme is one which any person who, if that person—
(i) were entitled to carry on the activities authorised by this licence; and
(ii) had the competence and resources needed to carry on those activities to the best commercial advantage; and
(iii) were seeking to carry on those activities to the best commercial advantage,
could reasonably be expected to carry out during the period specified in the notice; and
(b)
(b) the period so specified must be within the Licence Period.
(4) If a programme is submitted to the Minister in consequence of a notice served under paragraph (2), then—
(a)
(a) the Minister shall not be entitled to revoke this licence on the ground that the programme does not satisfy the requirements of that paragraph (“the Relevant Requirements”); but
(b)
(b) if the Minister is of the opinion that the programme does not satisfy the Relevant Requirements the Minister may serve a notice in writing on the Licensee stating that opinion and...
