Section 71: Petroleum Exploration Licence.

1 The Commission shall be responsible for granting of petroleum exploration licences.

2 The holder of a petroleum exploration licence shall have non-exclusive right to carry out petroleum exploration operations within the area provided for in the licence.

3 A petroleum exploration licence shall be for three years and may be renewable for additional period of three years subject to fulfilment of prescribed conditions, but shall not include any right to win, extract, work, store, carry away, transport, export or otherwise treat petroleum discovered in or under the licence area.

4 A petroleum exploration licence may cover an area that includes petroleum prospecting licences or petroleum mining leases, provided that the holders of such licences or leases, shall have no obligation to purchase the results of any survey conducted under the petroleum exploration licence.

5 A petroleum exploration licence granted in respect of frontier acreages may include a provision permitting the licensee to select, based on the result of his exploration work and be granted one or more petroleum prospecting licences prior to the termination of the licence containing the fiscal provisions stipulated in Chapter 4 of this Act.

6 The Commission shall have sole right and title over any acquired raw and interpreted data obtained by a licensee pursuant to a petroleum exploration licence, provided that the licensee shall be entitled to grant a data use licence to a third party subject to a written authorisation by the Commission, which shall not be unreasonably withheld.

7 A licensee is entitled to a fee from a third party for data use licence granted under subsection (6) and shall remit to the Commission any agreed portion of the fee due to the Commission.

8 Exploration activities conducted pursuant to a petroleum exploration licence shall be monitored and administered by the Commission in accordance with regulations made under this Act.

9 The Commission shall have sole right and title over all acquired and interpreted data from existing speculative survey agreements entered into with the Department of Petroleum Resources on behalf of the Government prior to the effective date.

10 The carrying out of geological, geophysical or geochemical surveys for scientific or educational purposes in relation to petroleum do not require a petroleum exploration licence, where the results of such surveys are not for sale or commercial gain.