104Surrender of permits etc.

#### 104 Surrender of permits etc. (1) The registered holder of an instrument, being a permit, lease, licence, infrastructure licence or pipeline licence, may by application in writing served on the Designated Authority, apply for consent to surrender the instrument: (a) in the case of a permit or licence—as to all or some of the blocks in respect of which it is in force; or (aaa) in the case of an infrastructure licence—as to the infrastructure licence area; or (aa) in the case of a lease—as to all of the blocks in respect of which it is in force; or (b) in the case of a pipeline licence—as to the whole or a part of the pipeline in respect of which it is in force. (2) Subject to subsection (3), the Designated Authority shall not give his consent to a surrender of an instrument under subsection (1) unless the registered holder: (a) has paid all fees and amounts payable by him under this Act, or under any Act with which this Act is incorporated, or has made arrangements that are satisfactory to the Designated Authority for the payment of those fees and amounts; (b) has complied with the conditions to which the instrument is subject and with the provisions of this Part and of the regulations; (c) has, to the satisfaction of the Designated Authority, removed or caused to be removed from the area to which the surrender relates all property brought into that area by any person engaged or concerned in the operations authorized by the instrument, or has made arrangements that are satisfactory to the Designated Authority with respect to that property; (d) has, to the satisfaction of the Designated Authority, plugged or closed off all wells made in that area by any person engaged or concerned in the operations authorized by the instrument; (e) subject to this Part and to the regulations, has made provision, to the satisfaction of the Designated Authority, for the conservation and protection of the natural resources in that area; and (f) has, to the satisfaction of the Designated Authority, made good any damage to the sea‑bed or subsoil in that area caused by any person engaged or concerned in the operations authorized by the instrument; but, if the registered holder has complied with those requirements, the Designated Authority shall not unreasonably refuse consent to the surrender. (3) Where the registered holder of an instrument, being a permit, lease, licence, infrastructure licence or pipeline licence, has not complied with the conditions to which the instrument is subject and with the provisions of this Part and of the regulations, the Designated Authority may give his consent to a surrender of the instrument under subsection (1) if he is satisfied that, although the registered holder has not so complied, special circumstances exist that justify the giving of consent to the surrender. (3A) If: (a) an application for consent to surrender an instrument relates to a permit granted under section 22 or such a permit renewed under section 32; and (b) a condition of the permit requires the registered holder to carry out specified work during a period specified in the permit; and (c) the application is made during such a period; the registered holder of the permit has not complied with the condition, for the purposes of this section, unless the registered holder has completed the work specified for the period during which the application was made. > Note: Example: A permit granted under section 22 has a six year term and is subject to: (a) a condition that requires the registered holder, during each year of the term of the permit, to carry out the work specified in the permit for the year concerned; and (b) a condition that requires the registered holder to carry out the work specified for the first 3 years of the term of the permit before the end of the third year. > Note: If the registered holder of the permit applies for consent to surrender the permit during the second year of the term of the permit and the holder has completed the specified work for the first and second years of the permit, but has not completed the work specified for the third year, the holder has not complied with the condition mentioned in paragraph (b). > Note: If the registered holder of the permit applies for consent to surrender the permit during the fourth year of the term of the permit and the registered holder has not completed the work specified for the fourth year, the holder has not complied with the condition mentioned in paragraph (a). (4) Where the Designated Authority consents to an application under subsection (1), the applicant may, by instrument in writing served on the Designated Authority, surrender the instrument accordingly. (5) In this section, the area to which the surrender relates means: (a) in relation to a surrender of a permit, lease or licence—the area constituted by the blocks as to which the permit, lease or licence is proposed to be surrendered; and (aa) in relation to a surrender of an infrastructure licence—the infrastructure licence area; and (b) in relation to a surrender of a pipeline licence—the part of the adjacent area in which the pipeline, or the part of the pipeline, as to which the pipeline licence is proposed to be surrendered is constructed.