(1) The registered
holder of an instrument, being a permit, lease, licence, infrastructure
licence or pipeline licence, may, at any time, by application in writing
served on the Minister, apply for consent to surrender the instrument —
(a) in
the case of a permit or licence, as to all or some of the blocks in respect of
which it is in force; or
(aaa) in
the case of an infrastructure licence, as to the infrastructure licence area;
or
(aa) in
the case of a lease, as to all of the blocks in respect of which it is in
force; or
(b) in
the case of a pipeline licence, as to the whole or a part of the pipeline in
respect of which it is in force.
(2) Subject to
subsection (3), the Minister shall not give his consent to a surrender of an
instrument under subsection (1) unless the registered holder —
(a) has
paid all fees and amounts payable by him under this Act or the Registration
Fees Act, or has made arrangements that are satisfactory to the Minister for
the payment of those fees and amounts; and
(b) has
complied with the conditions to which the instrument is subject and with the
provisions of this Part and of the regulations; and
(c) has,
to the satisfaction of the Minister, removed or caused to be removed from the
area to which the surrender relates all property brought into that area by any
person engaged or concerned in the operations authorised by the instrument, or
has made arrangements that are satisfactory to the Minister with respect to
that property; and
(d) has,
to the satisfaction of the Minister, plugged or closed off all wells made in
that area by any person engaged or concerned in the operations authorised by
the instrument; and
(e)
subject to this Part and to the regulations, has made provision, to the
satisfaction of the Minister, for the conservation and protection of the
natural resources in that area; and
(f) has,
to the satisfaction of the Minister, made good any damage to the seabed or
subsoil in that area caused by any person engaged or concerned in the
operations authorised by the instrument,
but if the registered
holder has complied with those requirements the Minister shall not
unreasonably refuse to consent to the surrender.
(3) Where the
registered holder of an instrument, being a permit, lease, licence,
infrastructure licence or pipeline licence, has not complied with the
conditions to which the instrument is subject and with the provisions of this
Part and of the regulations, the Minister may give his consent to a surrender
of the instrument under subsection (1) if he is satisfied that, although the
registered holder has not so complied, special circumstances exist that
justify the giving of consent to the surrender.
(4) Where the Minister
consents to an application under subsection (1), the applicant may, by
instrument in writing served on the Minister, surrender the instrument
accordingly.
(5) In this section,
the area to which the surrender relates means —
(a) in
relation to a surrender of a permit, lease or licence, the area constituted by
the blocks as to which the permit, lease or licence is proposed to be
surrendered; and
(ba) in
relation to an infrastructure licence, the infrastructure area; and
(b) in
relation to a surrender of a pipeline licence, the part of the adjacent area
in which the pipeline, or the part of the pipeline, as to which the pipeline
licence is proposed to be surrendered, is constructed.
[Section 104 amended: No. 12 of 1990 s. 221; No.
42 of 2010 s. 139.]