5.8.93 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 196/55 COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 14 July 1993 establishing that the exploitation of geographical areas for the purpose of exploring for or extracting oil or gas does not constitute in the United Kingdom an activity defined in Article 2 (2) (b) (i) of Council Directive 90/531/EEC of 17 September 1990 and that entities carrying on such an activity are not to be considered in the United Kingdom as operating under special or exclusive rights within the meaning of Article 2 (3) (b) of the Directive (Only the English text is authentic) (93/425/EEC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, Having regard to Council Directive 90/531/EEC of 17 September 1990 on the procurement procedures -of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and tele- communications sectors ('), and in particular Articles 3 (4) and 32 (4) to (7) thereof, Whereas, under Article 3 of Directive 90/531/EEC, a Member State may request the Commission to provide that exploitation of geographical areas for the purpose of exploring for or extracting oil, gas, coal or other solid fuels is not to be considered to be an activity defined in Article 2 (2) (b) (i) of of the Directive and that entities are not to be considered as operating under special or exclu- sive rights wihtin the meaning of Article 2 (3) (b) by virtue of carrying on one or more of those activities, provided that a number of precise conditions are satisfied with respect to the relevant national provisions concerning such activities and that any Member State requesting such a decision ensures that entities observe the principles of non-discrimination and competitive procurement in awar- ding contracts and communicates to the Commission information relating to the award of such contracts; Whereas, by letter dated 7 May 1992, the Office of the United Kingdom Permanent Representative to the Euro- pean Communities requested the Commission to provide that exploitation of geographical areas for the purpose of exploring for or extracting oil or gas should not be consi- dered in the United Kingdom to be an activity defined in Article 2 (2) (b) (i) of Directive 90/531/EEC and the enti- () OJ No L 297, 29. 10. 1990, p. 1. ties carrying on such an activity are not to be considered in the United Kingdom as operating under special or exclusive rights wihtin the meaning of Article 2 (3) (b) of the Directive ; whereas that request did not cover the exploitation of geographical areas for the purpose of exploring for or extracting coal or other solid fuels; Whereas that request was accompanied by a copy of the legislative and regulatory provisions in force and a state- ment of how the five criteria listed in Article 3 (1) could be satisfied with respect to those provisions ; Whereas- additional information and supplementary docu- mentation relating to regulatory = or administrative measures in force, have been supplied in compliance with the provisions of Article 3 (1) and (2) of the Directive in letters from the Office of the Permanent Representative dated 26 June 1992 and 26 February 1993, and in letters " dated 4 August and 18 September 1992 from the Depart- ment of Trade and Industry; Whereas, as regards compliance with the conditions laid down in Article 3 (1) of the Directive, the Commission’s services have carried out a detailed analysis of the provi- sions in force in the United Kingdom (the Petroleum Production Act 1934 ; the Continental Shelf Act 1964, the Petroleum (Production) (Seaward Areas) Regulations 1988 and Amendments 1990 and 1992; the Petroleum (Production) (Landward Areas) Regulations 1991) as well as documents containing supplementary information used during the procedure of granting authorizations supple-’ mentary for exploration or extraction (such as notices in the Gazette, Guidance Notes, form for licence requests, model licences, guidance notes in relation to the develop- ment plan), which was communicated in full to the British authorities by letter dated 6 November 1992 and the main findings of which are set out below :