23Surrender of licence

##### 23. Surrender of licence (1) A licensee may, at any time, by instrument in writing served on the Minister, apply for consent to surrender his licence as to the whole or a part of the pipeline in respect of which it is in force. (2) Subject to subsection (3), a consent, under subsection (1), to the surrender of a licence shall not be given unless the licensee — (a) has paid all amounts payable by him under this Act or has made arrangements which are satisfactory to the Minister for the payment of those amounts; and (b) has complied with the conditions to which the licence is subject and with the provisions of this Act and of the regulations; and (c) has, where the Minister, by an instrument in writing served on the licensee, has required him to do so, caused to be published in such newspapers as may be specified in the instrument, notice of the licensee’s intention to apply for consent to surrender the licence as to the whole or a part of the pipeline in respect of which it is in force and has in that notice specified a date not being earlier than one month after publication of the notice on or before which any person having an interest in any land in the licence area may, by instrument in writing served on the Minister, submit any matters that he wishes to be considered in connection with the application for the consent; and (d) has, to the extent that he is required to do so by the Minister and to the satisfaction of the Minister, removed or caused to be removed from the area to which the surrender relates, property brought into that area by any person engaged or concerned in the operations authorised by the licence, or has made arrangements that are satisfactory to the Minister for the removal or disposal of that property. (3) Where a licensee has not complied with the conditions to which the licence is subject and with the provisions of this Act and of the regulations, the Minister may give his consent to the surrender of a licence under subsection (1) if he is satisfied that, although the licensee 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 licence accordingly.