Energy Bill

House of Commons

Session 2007 - 08
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Other Bills before Parliament

Energy Bill

Energy Bill
Part 4 — Provisions relating to oil and gas
61

(b)
with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
(2)
No proceedings for an offence under section 5B may be instituted in
Northern Ireland except—
(a)
by the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs,
or
5
(b)
with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions for
Northern Ireland.
(3)
In the application of section 5B to Northern Ireland the reference in
section 5B(6)(a) to 12 months is to be read as a reference to 6 months.
(4)
In the application of section 5B to England and Wales in relation to an
10
offence committed before the commencement of section 282 of the
Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44) (short sentences) the reference in
section 5B(6)(a) to 12 months is to be read as a reference to 6 months.”
72
Model clauses of petroleum licences
(1)
Schedule 3 amends the model clauses contained in the instruments specified in
15
that Schedule.
(2)
Where a licence granted under the Petroleum (Production) Act 1934 (c. 36) or
the Petroleum Act 1998 (c. 17), and in force immediately before
commencement, incorporates model clauses amended by a paragraph of
Schedule 3, the licence has effect with the amendments provided for by that
20
paragraph of that Schedule.
(3)
The reference in subsection (2) to model clauses includes model clauses subject
to any amendment or modification or with the omission of any model clause.
(4)
Where an amendment made by a paragraph of Schedule 3 confers a power to
give a notice requiring the plugging and abandonment of a well, the power
25
may not be exercised in relation to a well the drilling of which began before
commencement.
(5)
Where an amendment made by a paragraph of Schedule 3 confers a power of
revocation or partial revocation of a licence, that power may not be exercised
by reason of an event which takes place before commencement.
30
(6)
A reference in any document to provisions of a licence which are amended by
Schedule 3 is to be construed, unless the nature of the document or the context
otherwise requires, as a reference to those provisions as amended.
(7)
A provision inserted in a licence by virtue of Schedule 3 may be altered or
deleted by deed executed by the Secretary of State and the licensee or, as
35
respects Scotland, by an instrument subscribed by the Secretary of State and
the licensee in accordance with the Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act
1995 (c. 7).
(8)
In this section “commencement”, in relation to a paragraph of Schedule 3,
means the time when that paragraph comes into force.
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Energy Bill
Part 4 — Provisions relating to oil and gas
62

Third party access
73
Third party access to infrastructure
(1)
In section 66(1) of the Pipe-lines Act 1962 (c. 58) (interpretation)—
(a)
in the definition of “gas processing operation”, omit “and” after
paragraph (b) and after paragraph (c) insert—
5
“(d)
separating, purifying, blending, odorising or
compressing gas, for the purpose of—
(i)
converting it into a form in which a purchaser is
willing to accept delivery from a seller, or
(ii)
enabling it to be loaded for conveyance to
10
another place (whether inside or outside Great
Britain); and
(e)
loading gas—
(i)
at a facility which carries out operations of a kind
mentioned in paragraph (d), or
15
(ii)
piped from such a facility,

for the purpose of enabling the gas to be conveyed to
another place (whether inside or outside Great
Britain);”,
(b)
in the definition of “terminal”, omit “and” after paragraph (b) and after
20
paragraph (c) insert “; and
(d)
oil processing facilities (within the meaning given by
section 76(8) of the Energy Act 2008);”, and
(c)
in the definition of “upstream petroleum pipe-line” after paragraph (c)
insert—
25
“including all apparatus, works and services associated
with the operation of such a pipe-line or network.”
(2)
In section 12 of the Gas Act 1995 (c. 45) (rights to use gas processing facilities)—
(a)
in subsection (6), in the definition of “gas processing operation”, omit
“and” at the end of paragraph (b) and after paragraph (c) insert—
30
“(d)
separating, purifying, blending, odorising or
compressing gas for the purpose of—
(i)
converting it into a form in which a purchaser is
willing to accept delivery from a seller, or
(ii)
enabling it to be loaded for conveyance to
35
another place (whether inside or outside Great
Britain); and
(e)
loading gas—
(i)
at a facility which carries out operations of a kind
mentioned in paragraph (d), or
40
(ii)
piped from such a facility,

for the purpose of enabling the gas to be conveyed to
another place (whether inside or outside Great
Britain);”, and
(b)
for subsection (7) substitute—
45
“(7)
For the purposes of this section “associate”, in relation to the
owner of a gas processing facility, is to be construed in
accordance with section 77 of the Energy Act 2008 (and for this

Energy Bill
Part 4 — Provisions relating to oil and gas
63

purpose the reference in subsection (1) of that section to the
owner of an oil processing facility is to be read as a reference to
the owner of a gas processing facility).”
(3)
In section 26 of the Petroleum Act 1998 (c. 17) (meaning of “pipeline”)—
(a)
in subsection (1) for “any apparatus and works associated with such a
5
pipe or system” substitute “all apparatus, works and services
associated with the operation of such a pipe or system”, and
(b)
omit subsection (2).
(4)
In section 28 of that Act (interpretation of Part 3)—
(a)
in the definition of “gas processing operation”, omit “and” after
10
paragraph (b) and after paragraph (c) insert—
“(d)
separating, purifying, blending, odorising or
compressing gas, for the purpose of—
(i)
converting it into a form in which a purchaser is
willing to accept delivery from a seller, or
15
(ii)
enabling it to be loaded for conveyance to
another place (whether inside or outside Great
Britain); and
(e)
loading gas—
(i)
at a facility which carries out operations of a kind
20
mentioned in paragraph (d), or
(ii)
piped from such a facility,

for the purpose of enabling the gas to be conveyed to
another place (whether inside or outside Great
Britain);”,
25
(b)
after the definition of “notice” insert—
““oil processing facility” means any facility in Great
Britain, the territorial sea adjacent to the United
Kingdom or the sea in any area designated under
section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964 which
30
carries out oil processing operations;
“oil processing operations” means any of the following
operations—
(a)
initial blending and such other treatment of
petroleum as may be required to produce
35
stabilised crude oil and other hydrocarbon
liquids to the point at which a seller could
reasonably make a delivery to a purchaser of
such oil and liquids;
(b)
receiving stabilised crude oil and other
40
hydrocarbon liquids piped from an oil
processing facility carrying out operations of a
kind mentioned in paragraph (a), or storing oil
or other hydrocarbon liquids so received, prior
to their conveyance to another place (whether
45
inside or outside Great Britain);
(c)
loading stabilised crude oil and other
hydrocarbon liquids piped from a facility
carrying out operations of a kind mentioned in
paragraph (a) or (b) for conveyance to another
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Energy Bill
Part 4 — Provisions relating to oil and gas
64

place (whether inside or outside Great Britain);”,
and
(c)
in the definition of “terminal”, after paragraph (a) insert—
“(aa)
oil processing facilities;”.
74
Modification of pipelines
5
(1)
The Pipe-lines Act 1962 (c. 58) is amended as follows.
(2)
After section 10F (reducing necessity for constructing additional pipelines)
insert—
“10G
Compulsory modifications of pipe-lines
(1)
In the case of an upstream petroleum pipe-line, the Secretary of State
10
may, on the application of a person other than the owner, give a notice
(a “pipe-line modification notice”) to the applicant and the owner.
(2)
The Secretary of State may give a pipe-line modification notice only if
the Secretary of State is satisfied—
(a)
that the capacity of the pipe-line can and should be increased by
15
modifying the apparatus and works associated with the pipe-
line, or
(b)
that the pipe-line can and should be modified by installing in it
a junction through which another pipe-line may be connected to
the pipe-line.
20
(3)
A pipe-line modification notice must—
(a)
specify the modifications which the Secretary of State thinks
should be made,
(b)
specify the sums, or the method of determining the sums, which
the Secretary of State thinks should be paid to the owner by the
25
applicant for the purpose of defraying the cost of the
modifications,
(c)
require the applicant to make such arrangements as the
Secretary of State thinks appropriate to secure that those sums
will be paid to the owner if the owner carries out the
30
modifications or satisfies the Secretary of State that they will be
carried out,
(d)
specify the period within which the applicant must make the
arrangements mentioned in paragraph (c),
(e)
require the owner, if the applicant makes the arrangements
35
mentioned in paragraph (c) within the period specified under
paragraph (d), to carry out the modifications within a period
specified in the notice, and
(f)
authorise the owner to recover the sums mentioned in
paragraph (b) from the applicant if the works are carried out or
40
the Secretary of State is satisfied that they will be carried out.
(4)
Before giving a pipe-line modification notice, the Secretary of State
must give the owner of the pipe-line an opportunity to be heard.
(5)
References in this section to modifications include, in the case of
apparatus and works, references to changes in, substitutions for and
45
additions to the apparatus and works.

Energy Bill
Part 4 — Provisions relating to oil and gas
65

(6)
This section does not apply in relation to a pipe-line if and to the extent
that section 14 of the Petroleum Act 1998 applies in relation to it.
10H
Enforcement
(1)
It is an offence for the owner of a pipe-line to contravene any provision
of a pipe-line modification notice under section 10G in respect of the
5
pipe-line.
(2)
A person guilty of the offence is liable—
(a)
on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory
maximum, and
(b)
on conviction on indictment, to a fine.
10
(3)
It is a defence, in any proceedings for the offence, to prove that the
accused exercised due diligence to comply with the provisions of the
pipe-line modification notice.
(4)
Proceedings for the offence may not be instituted in England and Wales
except—
15
(a)
by the Secretary of State or by a person authorised to do so by
the Secretary of State, or
(b)
by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
(5)
Where the offence is committed by a body corporate and is proved to
have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be
20
attributable to neglect on the part of, an officer of the body corporate,
that officer (as well as the body corporate) is guilty of the offence and is
liable to be proceeded against and dealt with accordingly.
(6)
Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members,
subsection (5) applies in relation to the acts and defaults of a member
25
in connection with the member’s functions of management as it applies
to an officer of the body corporate.
(7)
In this section “officer”, in relation to a body corporate, means—
(a)
any director, secretary or other similar officer of the body
corporate, or
30
(b)
any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity.”
(3)
In section 10E (third party access to upstream petroleum pipelines), in
subsection (1) after “pipe-lines” insert “(but does not apply to a pipe-line if and
to the extent that section 14 of the Petroleum Act 1998 applies in relation to it)”.
(4)
In section 10F (supplemental provision relating to third party access), after
35
subsection (4) add—
“(5)
Before giving a notice under section 10G(1), the Secretary of State must
give the person who applied for that notice—
(a)
particulars of the modifications which it is proposed to specify
in the notice, and
40
(b)
an opportunity to make applications under section 10E in
respect of the pipeline;

and section 10E and subsections (1) to (4) of this section have effect for
this purpose as if references to a pipe-line were references to the pipe-
line as it would be with those modifications.”
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