Commentary on provisions of Act Section 48: Onshore petroleum: consequential amendments
This section transfers to the Scottish Ministers certain executive functions exercised currently by the Secretary of State relating to onshore petroleum licensing in the Scottish onshore area (defined as that area of Scotland landward of the "baseline").
	Subsection (3) amends section 3(1) of the Petroleum Act 1998 ("the Petroleum Act") to transfer, from the Secretary of State to the Scottish Ministers the powers to grant licences to bore and get petroleum.
	Subsection (4) amends section 3(3) of the Petroleum Act to transfer the powers to determine the terms and conditions, other than consideration payable, under which such licences shall be granted. The determination of consideration payable for the granting of a licence remains a reserved power for the Secretary of State, who shall make such determination with the consent of Treasury.
	Subsection (6) amends section 4(1) of the Petroleum Act to transfer, from the Secretary of State to the Scottish Ministers, the powers to make regulations in relation to the licensing process for the Scottish onshore area. These regulations can prescribe, amongst other matters, model clauses which would be incorporated into a new onshore petroleum licence, unless the Scottish Ministers decide it necessary to amend or exclude model clauses for a particular licence.
	Subsection (7) inserts new subsections (1A) to 4(1C) into section 4 the Petroleum Act. New subsection (1A) precludes Scottish Ministers from prescribing model clauses in relation to any matters under new subsection (1B). New subsection (1B) reserves, for the Secretary of State, regulatory powers to make model clauses in relation to the consideration payable for a licence as well as: (a) the measurement and facilitation of measurement of petroleum obtained from the licensed areas and (b) the keeping of accounts. In addition to the above reservations, subsection (1B) also reserves regulatory powers for the Secretary of State to cancel a licence, where the holder fails to pay consideration or fails to abide by the requirements on the measurement and facilitation of measurement of petroleum obtained from licensed areas and the keeping of accounts, so far as related to consideration.
	New subsection (1C) provides that any model clauses prescribed by the Secretary of State under subsection (1B) shall be incorporated into any licences granted by Scottish Ministers, unless the Secretary of State sees fit to modify or exclude them.
	Subsection (8) amends section 4(3) of the Petroleum Act to limit the powers of the Houses of Parliament to annul section 4 regulations, made by statutory instrument, to those regulations prescribed by the Secretary of State.
	Subsection (9) inserts section 4(3A) into the Petroleum Act to make any section 4 regulations made by the Scottish Ministers subject to annulment by negative procedure in the Scottish Parliament.
	Subsection (10) inserts section 4(4A) which requires the Scottish Ministers to publish notices of licenses granted by them for the Scottish onshore area in the Edinburgh Gazette.
	Subsection (11) amends section 5(9) of the Petroleum Act to transfer, from the Secretary of State to the Scottish Ministers, powers to alter or delete, by instrument subscribed with the licensee, clauses incorporated into a licences granted under section 2 of the Petroleum (Production) Act 1934 in the Scottish onshore area.
	Subsection (12) amends section 5(5A) of the Petroleum Act to transfer, from the Secretary of State to the Scottish Ministers, powers to revert licence rights in onshore Scotland back to the transferor, where rights have been transferred without the Scottish Ministers’ consent. These subsections also transfer the procedures by which the Scottish Ministers must abide by when reverting rights in the Scottish onshore area.
	Subsection (13) amends section 5(5B)(1) of the Petroleum Act to extend the right of the Commissioners of HMRC to disclose information, to the Scottish Ministers, in relation to the transfer of a right granted by a license in the Scottish onshore area. This disclosure is for the purpose of determining whether a transfer in the Scottish onshore area that should have had the Scottish Ministers’ consent did have that consent.
	Subsection (14) amends section 7(2) of the Petroleum Act, which determines the effects of the Mines (Working Facilities and Support) Act 1966 when applied to licensing under the Petroleum Act 1998, by specifying that, within sections 4 and 9 of that Act, "the Secretary of State" or "the Minister" shall in those sections refer to the Scottish Ministers for licences granted in the Scottish onshore area.
	Subsection (15) amends section 8 of the Petroleum Act to provide officers appointed by the Scottish Ministers with the same powers to inspect plans of mines as those already enjoyed by officers appointed by the Secretary of State under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
	Subsection (16) inserts section 8(8A) into the Petroleum Act to provide that, for Part I of the Petroleum Act 1998, "the appropriate Minister" shall be the Scottish Ministers for the Scottish onshore area. This also align the definition of the Scottish onshore area with the provisions set out by any Order in Council under section 1(1)(b) of the Territorial Sea Act 1987 (extension of territorial sea).
	Subsection amends section 188 (12) of the Energy Act 2004 to add petroleum licensing to the list of energy functions exercisable by the Scottish Ministers for which they may impose charges.
	Subsection (19) amends section 12(1A)(a)(ii) of the Oil Taxation Act 1975 to include the revocation of a licence by the Scottish Ministers to the list of cessation events by which a person ceases to be a licensee in relation to oil fields.
	Subsection (20) amends sub-paragraph 1(2)(a) of Schedule 1 to the Oil Taxation Act 1975 to limit the powers of the Secretary of State for determining oil fields to those areas that are such that the granting of a licence within them, under Part 1 of the Petroleum Act, would fall exclusively to the Secretary of State.
	Subsection (20) amends paragraph 1(2) of Schedule 1 to the Oil Taxation Act 1975 to include the Scottish Ministers as the appropriate authority for the determination of an oil field, where the relevant area is such that the granting of licences within it would fall exclusively to the Scottish Ministers. The subsections also determine the Secretary of State and Scottish Ministers as the joint appropriate authorities for the determination of an oil field, where the relevant area is such that the granting of licences within it would fall in part to the Secretary of State and in part to the Scottish Ministers.
	Subsection (22) amends regulation 2 of The Petroleum (Production)(Landward Areas) Regulations 1995 to introduce a definition of the "Scottish onshore area" that is in line with that of section 8A of the Petroleum Act.
	Subsections (23) and (24) amend regulation 3 of the Petroleum (Production)(Landward Areas) Regulations 1995 to exclude the Scottish onshore area from the applicability of the Regulations in terms of licence applications.