Part 3: Decommissioning of Energy Installations Commentary on Sections Section 108 and Schedule 6: Repeals
343.Section 108 and Schedule 6 makes a further amendment to section 31(1) of the Petroleum Act 1998 (section 29 notices: supplementary provisions) and section 34(3) (revision of programmes) of the Petroleum Act 1998. Subsection (1) of section 31 provides that the Secretary of State may not give a notice under section 29 to certain persons specified in section 30(1) if the Secretary of State has been and continues to be satisfied that adequate arrangements (including financial arrangements) have been made by other persons so specified. Similarly, section 34(3) provides that the Secretary of State shall not propose that certain persons specified in section 30(1) shall be given a duty to secure that an approved abandonment programme is carried out unless it appears to him that one of the current parties has or may default. The effect of the new provisions is to provide that these limitations will no longer apply to persons specified in paragraph (d) of section 30 (1) (a person who owns any interest in an installation otherwise than as security for a loan). There is increasing use of floating production systems where the ownership may change during the life of the field, and this amendment takes account of this change in practice, and enables the abandonment risk to be spread to new owners with an interest in an installation.