This Act was repealed on 2008-09-26 by Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act, 2008.
Zambia
Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act, 1985
Chapter 440
- Published
- Commenced on 12 April 1985
- [This is the version of this document at 31 December 1996.]
- [Repealed by Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act, 2008 (Act 10 of 2008) on 26 September 2008]
Part I – Preliminary
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act.2. Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—"Chairman" means the person designated Chairman of the Committee by section five;"Commercial discovery" means a discovery of petroleum which can be exploited commercially in accordance with accepted practices in the international petroleum industry;"Committee" means the Petroleum Committee established by section four;"Contract" means any agreement between the State and a contractor entered into pursuant to this Act for the conduct of petroleum operations in the Republic;"Contractor" means any person with whom the State enters into a contract; and includes his agents, representatives and assignees;"Contract Area" means a geographical area which is covered by a contract; and includes the whole of, or such part or parts of, the original area awarded to a contractor as shall remain at the disposal of such contractor from time to time pursuant to the terms of the contract;"Crude oil" means petroleum which is in liquid state at the well head or gas/oil separator or which is extracted from natural gas, including any distillate or condensate;"Development and production period" shall be construed in accordance with section twenty-seven;"Exploration period" shall be construed in accordance with section twenty-seven;"Member" means a member of the Committee;"Minerals" shall have the meaning assigned thereto in the Mines and Minerals Act; but shall not include petroleum;[Cap. 213]"Natural gas" means all petroleum which at atmospheric conditions of temperature and pressure is in a gaseous state; and includes wet mineral gas, dry mineral gas, wet gas and residue gas remaining after the extraction, processing or separation of liquid petroleum from wet gas, as well as non-petroleum gas or gases produced in association with liquid or gaseous petroleum;"Petroleum" means all natural organic substances composed of carbon and hydrogen; and includes crude oil and natural gas, and all other mineral substances, products, by-products and derivatives that are found in conjunction with petroleum;"Petroleum operations" means the operations related to the exploration, development, extraction, production, field separation, transportation, storage, sale or disposal of petroleum; but does not include any transportation or other operations—(i)beyond the point of export; or(ii)in the case of petroleum which is processed within Zambia, beyond the point of entry into a refinery or liquefaction or natural gas treatment plant;"Register" means the petroleum register maintained pursuant to section fourteen of this Act;"Vice-Chairman" means the person designated Vice-Chairman of the Committee by section five.3. Title to petroleum
Part II – Petroleum Committee
4. Establishment of Committee and functions
There is hereby established the Petroleum Committee which shall be responsible for the formulation of policies relating to petroleum and its development in Zambia and shall perform such other functions as are provided for under this Act.5. Composition of Committee
The Committee shall consist of the following members:6. Tenure of office
7. Vacancies
8. Proceedings of Committee
9. Secretary
10. Disclosure of interest
11. Immunity of members
No action or other proceedings shall lie or be instituted against any member for or in respect of any act or thing done or omitted to be done in good faith in the exercise or purported exercise of his functions under this Act.Part III – Administration
12. Administration of Act
Subject to the provisions of section four the Minister shall be responsible for the administration of this Act.13. Delegation of Minister's powers
The Minister may delegate to any public officer any of his functions under this Act:Provided that the Minister shall not delegate his power to enter into and terminate or revoke any contract.14. Petroleum register
15. Inspection of register
The Minister shall, on application and upon payment of the prescribed fee, allow inspection of the register at all reasonable times and shall, upon request, give copies or extracts from any entry in such register.16. Information of contracts to be submitted to Provincial Councils
The Minister shall forward, in such form and manner as he may determine, details of every contract and of any instrument transferring, approving or terminating any contract or any interest therein, as may be entered in the register, to the Provincial Council in whose area the contract area in question is situated.Part IV – Grant of rights to conduct petroleum operations
17. Right to conduct petroleum operations
18. Authority to contract
Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the Minister may issue invitations for bids and, following the approval of the Committee as to his selection of bidders for negotiations, may conduct negotiations and enter into contracts:Provided that—19. State participation
The Minister may, with the approval of the Committee, provide for the State's participation, directly or indirectly, in some or all stages of the petroleum operations and such participation may include the right to participate in the rights and obligations set out in a contract.20. Qualifications to contract
21. Prohibitions
22. Bids
23. Blocks
For the purposes of this Act, the territory of the Republic, or parts thereof, shall be divided into blocks, according to a grid system, in accordance with regulations to be prescribed by the Minister.Part V – Type and nature of contracts
24. Conditions of contract
25. Contents of contract
Each contract shall include the following:26. Obligations of contractor
In addition to the provisions of section twenty-five, every contract shall require the contractor to undertake the following obligations:27. Term of contract
28. Relinquish-ment
Every contract shall provide for the relinquishment of part or parts of the contract area at such time or times as shall be prescribed therein:Provided that the obligation to relinquish part or parts of the contract area shall not apply to any part of the contract area encompassing the area of a commercial discovery.29. Transfers and assignments
Except with the prior approval of the Minister, no contractor shall assign, encumber or transfer any contract, or any rights or obligations arising out of a contract; and any such transfer, assignment or encumberance shall be null and void.30. Termination
Every contract shall stipulate the terms and conditions upon which the contract may be terminated by the State or the contractor and the effects of such termination:Provided that the termination of any contract, for whatever reason, shall not affect in any way any liability incurred by a contractor before such termination.31. Duty to indemnify
Each contractor shall at all times indemnify the State and its representatives and agents against all and any claims made by third parties in respect of any injury, damage or loss caused by an act or omission of the contractor, his contractors, his sub-contractors or his agents, employees or representatives in the course of the conduct of petroleum operations.32. Conservation and work practices
Part VI – Areas of operation and surface rights
33. Areas closed to petroleum operations
The Minister may, with the approval of the Committee, declare certain areas of the Republic to be closed to some or all petroleum operations:Provided that—34. Restricted areas
35. Surface rights and compensation
36. Other minerals
Part VII – Government revenues
37. Income tax
A contractor, his contractors and sub-contractors shall be liable for the payment of income tax in accordance with the Income Tax Act with respect to income deriving from petroleum operations.[Cap. 323]38. Employee taxation
39. Royalty or production payment
40. Surface rentals
Every contract shall require the contractor to make annual surface rental payments in respect of the contract area, and the amount of such surface rental shall be prescribed in the regulations.41. Other fees, charges and levies
Provision may be made in the regulations or in individual contracts for the payment by the contractor of fees, charges or other levies to the State in connection with the carrying out of petroleum operations pursuant to this Act.42. Exemptions
Part VIII – General provisions
43. Immunity of public officers
The provisions of section eleven shall apply mutatis mutandis to any public officer.44. Prohibition of publication or disclosure of information to unauthorised persons
45. Disputes between State and contractor
Contracts may provide for arbitration of disputes arising thereunder between the State and the contractor in accordance with rules issued and administered by recognised international bodies.46. Disputes between contractor and others
If any dispute, controversy or difference arises between two or more contractors or between a contractor and any person holding mining rights pursuant to the Mines and Minerals Act or between a contractor and any other person, the parties to such dispute, controversy or difference may jointly or individually apply to the Minister to investigate and resolve the same pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of of the Mines and Minerals Act.[Cap. 213]47. Revocation
48. Effect of revocation
49. Penalty
Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of this Act, and such contravention is not an offence under any other written law, shall be guilty of an offence and shall upon conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty five thousand penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding three years, or to both.[As amended by Act No. 13 of 1994]50. Regulations
The Minister may make regulations for the better carrying out of the purposes of this Act.51. Non-application of the Mines and Minerals Act
Except as otherwise specifically provided in or under this Act, the provisions of the Mines and Minerals Act shall not apply to petroleum or petroleum operations.[Cap. 213]History of this document
26 September 2008
Repealed by
Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act, 2008
31 December 1996 this version
Consolidation
12 April 1985
Commenced
Subsidiary legislation
Title | Numbered title |
---|---|
Petroleum (Exploration and Production) (Amendment) Regulations, 1986 | Statutory Instrument 28 of 1986 |