LAW No.92/013 _OF 2 2 DEC. 1999
TO INSTITUTE THE PETROLEUM CODE
The National Assembly deliberated and adopted, the President of the Republic hereby enacts the law set out below
# PART I
# GENERAL PROVISIONS
SECtiON 1 : This law institutes the Petroleum Code. To this end it shall :
promote Petroleum Operations throughout the national territory ; lay down conditions for hydrocarbons prospection, exploration, exploitation and transportation ; lay down the legal, fiscal and customs and exchange schedule of Petroleum Operations, subject to the provisions of section 118 below ; -determine the right and obligations relating to petroleum operations.
SECTioN 2 : For purposes of this Code and its texts of application, the terms herein after shall have the following meaning :
a) "Authorisation(s)" : any or all of the authorisations granted under this Code ; ) "Exploitation Authorisation" : the Authorisation for Hydrocarbons Exploitation ; )"Prospection Authorisation" : the Authorisation for Hydrocarbons Prospection ; d) "Provisional Exploitation Authorisation" : the Provisional Authorisation for Hydrocarbons Exploitation ; e) "Exploration Authorisation" : the Authorisation for Hydrocarbons Exploration ; f) "Domestic Transportation Authorisation" : the Authorisation for Transportation of Hydrocarbons by pipeline ; g) "Concession Contract" : Petroleum Contract attached to a Hydrocarbons Exploration permit and, as the case may be, to one or more Exploitation concessions ; h) "Production Sharing Contract": Petroleum Contract whereby the Holder receives compensation in kind by being entitled to a share of production , 1) "Petroleum Contract" : Concession Contract or Production Sharing Contract entered into between the State and a Holder af- 'h date of promulgation, of this Code for the purpose of carrying out, on ' ex ve basis, the Exploration and Exploitation of Hydrocarbons within a specified art a , 1) "Exploitation" : operations intended to extract Hydrocarbons for commercial purposes, in particular the development and production operations as well as ancillary activities, such as abandonment of wells and Hydrocarbons deposits ,
k) "Hydrocarbons" : liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons as found in their natural state, otherwise referred to as crude oil or natural gas as the case may be, as well as all related products and substances extracted in association with the said Hydrocarbons ; 1) "Operator" : A Petroleum Company which is a Holder or a co-Holder, responsible for the conduct and performence of the Petroleum Operations pursuant to the provisions of the Petroleum Contract. The.Operator must be able to show a satisfactory record as operator, particularly in areas and under conditions similar to those of the area applied for, with regard to environmental protection ; m) "Petroleum Operations" : Hydrocarbons Prospection, Exploration, Exploitation, Transportation activities, and storage activities, excluding refining and distribution activities of petroleum products ; n) "Prospection": preliminary activities of prospection and detection of possibilities of the existence of Hydrocarbons, particularly through the use of geological, geophysical or geochemical methods, excluding drillings that exceed a depth of three hundred (300) meters ;