Contractor may want to amend this section so that the Development and Production Period only runs from the date of finalisation of the Development Plan. This would be similar to the Mauritania PSC, where granting of the exclusive exploitation authorization occurs within a certain number of days following approval of the development and production programme (and the development / production period runs from the date of authorisation grant). Alternatively, as per the Indian PSC or the Madagascar PSC, Contractor could amend so that the Development and Production Period only runs from the time of grant of the corresponding development / production lease / mining title. Production run-off following expiry of Development and Production Period Contractor may wish to add a provision regarding expiry of the Development and Production Period so that if commercial production from a particular production area is still possible, the Contractor can request an extension of the applicable Development and Production Period, for example, by five years (as is the case in the Kurdistan PSC), or possibly longer in the event of a commercial production of non-associated natural gas (see, for example, the India PSC, 11.5(b)). Relinquishments (section 4) Section 4.1 provides for automatic relinquishment of areas within the Contract Area on expiry of the Exploration Period. Section 4.2 allows for voluntary relinquishment by the Contractor. Phased relinquishment Contractor should note that there is no phased relinquishment under the PSC, so that the entire Contract area other than all Discovery Areas and Development and Production Areas are automatically relinquished at the end of the Exploration Period. Under other PSC regimes, certain percentages of the contract area are relinquished on fixed dates during or at the end of the exploration period (see for example the Madagascar, Kurdistan and Bangladesh PSCs) Minimum expenditure commitment (section 5) Section 5 (which provides the framework for minimum expenditure during the Exploration Period) is broadly acceptable, although the minimum amounts are not yet specified. Please refer to the PSC Comparison Table for some examples of minimum expenditures in third country PSCs. Form of guarantee
Contractor may want to amend this section so that the Development and Production Period only runs from the date of finalisation of the Development Plan. This would be similar to the Mauritania PSC, where granting of the exclusive exploitation authorization occurs within a certain number of days following approval of the development and production programme (and the development / production period runs from the date of authorisation grant). Alternatively, as per the Indian PSC or the Madagascar PSC, Contractor could amend so that the Development and Production Period only runs from the time of grant of the corresponding development / production lease / mining title. Production run-off following expiry of Development and Production Period Contractor may wish to add a provision regarding expiry of the Development and Production Period so that if commercial production from a particular production area is still possible, the Contractor can request an extension of the applicable Development and Production Period, for example, by five years (as is the case in the Kurdistan PSC), or possibly longer in the event of a commercial production of non-associated natural gas (see, for example, the India PSC, 11.5(b)). Relinquishments (section 4) Section 4.1 provides for automatic relinquishment of areas within the Contract Area on expiry of the Exploration Period. Section 4.2 allows for voluntary relinquishment by the Contractor. Phased relinquishment Contractor should note that there is no phased relinquishment under the PSC, so that the entire Contract area other than all Discovery Areas and Development and Production Areas are automatically relinquished at the end of the Exploration Period. Under other PSC regimes, certain percentages of the contract area are relinquished on fixed dates during or at the end of the exploration period (see for example the Madagascar, Kurdistan and Bangladesh PSCs) Minimum expenditure commitment (section 5) Section 5 (which provides the framework for minimum expenditure during the Exploration Period) is broadly acceptable, although the minimum amounts are not yet specified. Please refer to the PSC Comparison Table for some examples of minimum expenditures in third country PSCs. Form of guarantee