After more than two months, the parliamentary sessions will resume on Tuesday, October 26 at 11:30 am. An important bill, the Offshore Petroleum Bill (No. xiv of 2021) will be probably on the agenda.
The object of this Bill is to repeal the Petroleum Act, a legislation which dates back to the year 1970, and replace it with a new and more appropriate regulatory regime for the conduct of petroleum activities in the seabed and subsoil areas of the maritime zones of Mauritius, such as the prospecting, exploration, retention and production of petroleum.
The Department for Continental Shelf, Maritime Zones Administration and Exploration of the Prime Minister’s Office shall, amongst its other functions, be the regulatory body for petroleum activities in the maritime zones of Mauritius and shall, inter alia –
(a) regulate, monitor and oversee petroleum activities;
(b) be responsible for the issue of prospecting permits, exploration licences, retention licences and production licences;
(c) negotiate, on behalf of the Government, prospecting agreements and petroleum agreements;
(d) facilitate the conduct of petroleum activities;
(e) develop strategies and policies to minimise and manage the impacts of petroleum activities in the marine environment;
(f) advise the Minister in the formulation, planning and management of policies in relation to petroleum activities; and (g) do such other things as may be necessary for the proper conduct of petroleum activities.
In addition, all sovereign rights to petroleum contained in the seabed and subsoil areas of the maritime zones shall vest, and shall always be deemed to have been vested, in the State of Mauritius.
