JOHN CARLOS I

KING OF SPAIN

To all who present it and understand it.

Sabed: That the General Courts have approved and I come to sanction the following Law.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The purpose of this Law is to renew, integrate and homogenize the different legal regulations in force in the field of hydrocarbons. It is therefore intended to achieve more open regulation, in which the public authorities safeguard the general interests through the rules themselves, limiting their direct intervention in the markets where there are emergency situations. This regulation must also enable the free enterprise initiative to extend its scope and the introduction into our legal system of socially assumed technical and commercial realities, but lacking, at the moment, of the appropriate legal lace. At the same time, in parallel with this opening up of the legislation, detailed information mechanisms should be developed by market players to the relevant authorities, in order to enable the achievement of the objectives to be achieved. proposed with the liberalisation of the markets.

This Law seeks to provide an integrated treatment for a vertically articulated industry. From the production of hydrocarbons in an underground reservoir to its consumption in the motor of a vehicle, in the heating of a house or in an industrial process, a series of economic and economic transactions can occur physical processes of transformation, treatment or simply transport which deserve a global consideration, since they are part of an economic activity which, although segmentable, responds to an integrated conception. This integration should facilitate a balanced treatment of the different activities regulated in this Law and allow for substantial homogeneity in the way of addressing similar problems.

This is added to the concern of the Law for the introduction of environmental protection criteria that will be present in the activities that are the object of the law, from the moment of its planning. It is therefore intended to reflect the need to preserve and restore the environment as an essential condition for improving the quality of life.

The first material block addressed by the Law is that of the exploration, investigation and exploitation of hydrocarbons that have been regulated by Law 21/1974 of June 27. The main new developments that this Law contains are its adaptation to the constitutional order, the abolition of the reserve in favor of the State, the regulation of the underground storage, the creation of the figure of the operator and, This is a very important point, particularly in relation to the decommissioning obligations of the facilities which the concessionaires must assume. While the constitutional adequacy is a necessity that is explained by itself, the abolition of the reserve in favor of the State responds to the need to configure such a State as a regulator and not as executor of certain activities industrial. This is not the case for the fact that, if the State considers it appropriate, it can promote the investigation of a specific area through the call for the corresponding competitions. Both the underground and the operator figure are new that are incorporated in our order from the observation of reality. Underground storage, lacking in regulation, is a fundamental core of both the safety of the natural gas system and other types of hydrocarbons. As for the operator, it is the entity that acts as the person responsible to the Administration of the set of activities developed in the field of research and exploitation of hydrocarbons when there is shared ownership.

Oil refining and transportation, storage, distribution and marketing of petroleum products are regulated from a perspective of further liberalization, suppressing pre-existing authorizations for the exercise of the activity by the mere authorization of facilities affected by an activity which by the nature of the products handled requires special attention. Only, as a derogation, is the activity authorisation maintained for the wholesale operators which, on the whole of the liquid hydrocarbon market, are responsible for the maintenance of the minimum security stocks, the basic guarantee of the system.

The supply of liquefied petroleum gases also receives the liberalizing impulse that this Law seeks to extend to the entire hydrocarbon sector. Requirements for the exercise of the activity among which are deleted, the removal of the mandatory home distribution may be the most relevant example.

The regulation of the gas sector seeks to advance the liberalization of the sector and to collect the advances in our country in this industry since the enactment of the Law of Basic Provisions for a Development in 1987 coordinated action on gaseous fuels, making it compatible with a consistent and consistent development of the gas system throughout the national territory.

On the basis of the homogeneity already mentioned as a criterion that presides this norm, it is also intended that the homogeneity is maintained in the basic approach given to the natural gas system, in relation to the electrical system. These are both cases of supplies that require physical connections between producers and consumers. Since the duplicity of these interconnections does not make economic sense, the owner of the network is configured as a monopoly of supply. The separation between the ownership of the transport infrastructure and the service that such infrastructure provides and the progressiveness in this process of separation are the two tools that, like Law 54/1997, of 27 November, of the sector This Law uses to transform the landscape of the natural gas industry.

However, this Law provides for other technical possibilities of supplies from gaseous fuels other than natural gas, within which, due to its impact, the liquefied gas supplies of the oil by pipeline.

In addition, although this Law is explicit in the intention to fully or partially liberalize the prices of the commercial transactions of the combustible gases by channeling and especially those referred to natural gas when there is Sufficient signals on the market to make it possible, it is anticipated that there will be a specific economic regime for these goods, so that the interests of both consumers and future producers will be protected from the outset. in respect of any market power situation.

It is also necessary to address three generic aspects of the Law that represent a certain novelty in our order:

Public service consideration is suppressed in the gas sector. It is estimated that all the activities regulated in this Law do not require the presence and responsibility of the State for its development. However, the consideration of activities of general interest which was already covered by Law 34/1992 of 22 December of management of the oil sector has been maintained for all of them.

Unlike the electricity sector, whose supplies are considered essential, supplies from the hydrocarbon sector are of particular importance for the development of the economic life of the sector. State should ensure its security and continuity and justifies the maintenance obligations of minimum safety stocks affecting oil and gas products.

It is also necessary to refer to the National Energy Commission that is created in this Law. The linkage and interdependence of the energy sectors, the similar problems of some of them, especially as has been pointed out, of natural gas and electricity, and the progressive interrelation of business in this economic area recommend to give a single body the regulation and monitoring of the energy market, to ensure its transparency and to coordinate properly the criteria for resolving the issues that it knows.

Finally, it is necessary to clarify the criteria for the distribution of competence followed by this standard, which is declared as basic in those precepts that require it. Article 149.1.25ª gives the State the power to lay down the basis of the mining and energy system, which is completed in the executive field as set out in the Article 22 of the same Article which assigns the State the power to energy transport infrastructure when they leave the territorial scope of an Autonomous Community. In addition, the case-law of the Constitutional Court is added in the material field, in particular the judgment in 24/1985 of 21 February and the most recent judgment 197/1996 of 28 November. In both judgments, it is part of a competitive delimitation based on the consideration of the hydrocarbon market as the only one, which inevitably has to be projected, as a unit. This requires that the criterion of territoriality be separated and that its impact on a global market be determined for each installation. This Law respects the competences of the Autonomous Communities in all aspects of the distribution of hydrocarbons and makes them participate in the more general aspects of planning and management of the sector.

TITLE I

General provisions

Article 1. Object and scope of the Act.

1. The purpose of this Law is to regulate the legal status of activities relating to liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons.

2. The following activities are considered to be covered by this Law:

(a) Exploration, research and exploitation of deposits and underground storage of hydrocarbons.

b) Foreign trade, refining, transportation, storage and distribution of crude oil and petroleum products, including liquefied petroleum gases.

c) Acquisition, production, liquefaction, regasification, transportation, storage, distribution and marketing of gaseous fuels by pipeline.

3. Activities for the supply of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons shall be carried out under the principles of objectivity, transparency and free competition.

Article 2. Activity regime.

1. For the purposes of Article 132.2 of the Constitution, the consideration of state public domain property, hydrocarbon deposits and existing underground storage in the territory of the State and subsoil of the territorial sea shall be considered. and of the marine funds that are under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Spain under the current legislation and the international conventions and treaties of which it is a party.

2. The free enterprise initiative is recognized for the exercise of the activities referred to in Titles III and IV of this Law.

These activities will be carried out by guaranteeing the supply of petroleum and gas products through channeling to the consumers in the national territory and will have the consideration of activities of economic interest general. In respect of such activities, public administrations shall exercise the powers provided for in this Law.

Article 3. Administrative powers.

1. It corresponds to the Government, in the terms set out in this Law:

(a) Exercise the powers of planning in the field of hydrocarbons.

b) Establish the basic regulation corresponding to the activities referred to in this Law.

c) Determine the tolls for the use of facilities affected by the right of access by third parties in those cases where this Law establishes and establishes the rates and prices of supply.

d) Establish the minimum quality and safety requirements to govern the supply of hydrocarbons.

2. It corresponds to the General Administration of the State, in the terms established in this Law:

(a) Grant the research permits and research permits referred to in Title II, when it affects the territorial scope of more than one Autonomous Community. It shall also grant the operating concessions referred to in this Title of this Law.

b) Grant exploration permits, research permits, and operating concessions in the marine subsoil areas referred to in Title II of this Law. Also, grant exploration permits and research permits when their scope includes both land and marine subsoil areas.

c) Authorize the facilities that make up the basic natural gas network, as well as those other facilities referred to in this Law when their use affects more than one Autonomous Community or in the case of transport or distribution facilities when they leave the territorial scope of one of them.

(d) Authorize natural gas marketers when their scope of action is to exceed the territory of an Autonomous Community.

e) Authorize the activity of the wholesale operators of petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gases.

(f) Starting, in the field of their competence, instructions concerning the extension, improvement and adaptation of the transport and distribution infrastructure of hydrocarbons in order to guarantee adequate quality and safety in the energy supply.

g) to inspect, in the field of their competence, compliance with the technical and, where appropriate, economic conditions which are necessary.

h) Inspect compliance with the maintenance of minimum safety stock of the wholesale operators that are required.

(i) Punishment, in accordance with the Law, the commission of the infringements established in this Law in the field of its jurisdiction.

3. It is for the Autonomous Communities within their respective powers:

(a) The legislative development and implementation of the basic regulation on hydrocarbons.

b) Planning in coordination with that carried out by the Government.

c) Grant the exploration permits and research permits referred to in Title II of this Law, when it affects their territorial scope.

(d) Authorizing those installations whose use does not affect other Communities or the transport or distribution does not leave their territorial scope.

e) Authorizing natural gas marketers when their scope of action is to be circumscribed to an Autonomous Community.

(f) Imparting the instructions concerning the extension, improvement and adaptation of the transport or distribution facilities of hydrocarbons resulting from their competition.

(g) to inspect, in the field of installations of their competence, the technical, environmental and, where appropriate, economic conditions of the undertakings holding such facilities.

(h) Inspect the maintenance of minimum safety stocks when such maintenance corresponds to retail distributors or consumers located in their territorial scope.

i) Punishment, in accordance with the Law, the commission of the infractions in the field of their competence.

4. The General Administration of the State may conclude cooperation agreements with the Autonomous Communities in order to achieve more effective management of the administrative actions related to the facilities referred to in this Law.

Article 4. Planning in the field of hydrocarbons.

1. The planning of hydrocarbons shall be indicative, except as regards the pipelines of the basic network, the storage facilities for strategic reserves of hydrocarbons and the determination of the criteria for the general for the establishment of supply facilities for retail petroleum products having in these cases mandatory and minimum requirements for the guarantee of the supply of hydrocarbons.

2. The planning of hydrocarbons will be carried out by the Government with the participation of the Autonomous Communities and will be presented to the Congress of Deputies.

3. Such planning shall at least refer to the following aspects:

a) Forecast of demand for petroleum and natural gas products over the period considered.

b) Estimation of the supply of petroleum products needed to meet the expected demand under quality criteria, security of supply, energy diversification, improvement of efficiency and protection of the environment environment.

(c) Forecasts relating to the transport and storage facilities for petroleum products in accordance with the forecast of their demand, with particular attention to strategic reserve storage facilities.

d) Development reviews of the basic natural gas transport network, in order to meet the demand with criteria of optimization of the gas infrastructure throughout the national territory.

e) Definition of priority gasification zones, expansion of networks and stages of their implementation, in order to ensure a homogeneous development of the gas system throughout the national territory.

(f) Forecasts relating to installations for the transport and storage of gaseous fuels, as well as plants for the reception and regasification of liquefied natural gas, in order to ensure the stability of the gas system and the regularity and continuity of fuel gas supplies.

g) Establishment of general criteria for determining a minimum number of retail supply facilities for retail petroleum products based on the density, distribution and characteristics of the population and, where appropriate, the density of vehicle traffic.

h) The environmental protection criteria to be reported by the activities covered by this Law.

Article 5. Coordination with urban planning and road infrastructure plans.

1. The planning of gas transport facilities and the storage of strategic hydrocarbon reserves, as well as the general criteria for the placement of supply facilities for retail petroleum products, should be take into account the relevant instrument for spatial planning, urban planning or road infrastructure planning as appropriate, specifying the possible facilities, properly qualifying the land and establishing the soil reserves required for the location of the new facilities and the protection of existing facilities.

The planning of facilities referred to in point (g) of Article 4 (3) shall also be taken into account in road planning.

2. In cases where the planning of such facilities has not been taken into account in planning or planning instruments described in the previous paragraph, or where justified reasons of urgency or exceptional interest to the supply of petroleum products or natural gas advise the establishment of such products, and provided that under other laws a instrument of spatial planning or urban planning according to the class of the soil is required will be in line with the provisions of the legislation on soil regime and management of the territory that is applicable.

Article 6. Other authorizations.

1. The authorizations, permits and concessions covered by this Law shall be without prejudice to those other authorizations which the works, constructions and installations necessary for the development object of the same may require for reasons fiscal, spatial planning and urban planning, environmental protection, protection of living marine resources, requirement of corresponding sectoral legislation or security for persons and property.

2. As regards the industrial safety and quality of the technical and material elements for the installations covered by this Law, the provisions of Law 21/1992 of 16 July 1992 on Industry and other applicable provisions of the matter.

3. When the works, constructions and installations covered by this Law are located or have to be carried out within the zones and facilities of interest to the national defense, authorization of the Ministry of Defense will be required, according to with the provisions of Law 8/1975 of March 12, of zones and facilities of interest to the national defense, and its implementing regulations.

TITLE II

Exploration, research and exploitation of hydrocarbons

CHAPTER I

General provisions

Article 7. Activities subject to regulation.

This Title establishes the legal status of:

a) The exploration, research and exploitation of hydrocarbon deposits.

b) Exploration, research and exploitation of underground storage for hydrocarbons.

c) the activities of transport, storage and industrial handling of the mineral oils obtained, when they are carried out by the researchers themselves or by operators in an ancillary manner and by means of installations annexed to them; of production.

Article 8. Headlines.

1. Legal, public or private persons may carry out any of the activities referred to in this Title by obtaining the corresponding authorizations, permits and concessions.

The authorizations, permits and concessions referred to in this Article shall be granted in accordance with the principles of objectivity, transparency and non-discrimination.

2. Research permits and operating concessions may only be granted, individually or in shared ownership, to public or private legal persons who credit their technical and financial capacity to carry out the research operations and, where appropriate, the exploitation of the requested areas.

3. In the case of shared ownership of research permits or operating concessions, the set of holders shall designate one of them as an operator, without prejudice to their joint and several liability to the Administration for all the obligations arising from them.

The operator shall be the representative of the set of holders to the Administration for the purposes of presentation of documentation, management of guarantees and technical responsibilities of the prospecting, evaluation and exploitation.

Article 9. Legal status of the activities.

1. The exploration authorization entitles its holder to carry out exploration work in free areas, understanding for those geographical areas over which there is no research permit or an operating concession in the area.

2. The research permit empowers its holder to investigate, exclusively, on the surface granted, the existence of hydrocarbons and underground storage for the same, under the conditions laid down in this Title. The granting of a research permit confers on the holder the right to obtain operating concessions, at any time of the period of validity of the permit, after compliance with the conditions referred to in Chapter III of the Title.

3. The concession of exploitation empowers its holder to carry out the exploitation of the discovered resources, either by extraction of the hydrocarbons or by the use of the structures as underground storage of any type of those, in the given area.

The holder of an operating concession shall be entitled to the relevant authorisations for the construction and use of the facilities which are necessary for the development of his business, provided that they are in conformity with the legislation in force and the operating plan previously submitted.

Article 10. Investment by non-nationals.

For the purposes of this Title, capital investment by legal persons domiciled abroad shall be free, and must be in accordance with the provisions of the current regulations on foreign investments.

Article 11. Transmissibility of research permits and operating concessions.

The full or partial transmission of research permits and operating concessions, as well as the collaboration agreements that the holders of the same conduct for the development of their actions, will be subject to the authorisation of the competent authority after accreditation of the requirements to be the holder of the requirements.

Article 12. Reporting obligation.

1. Holders of exploration authorisations, research permits and operating concessions shall be required to provide the competent authority which has granted them with the information to be requested in respect of the characteristics of the field and the works, productions and investments they carry out, as well as geological and geophysical reports concerning their authorisations, permits and concessions, as well as other data which are regulated in accordance with this Regulation.

2. The data provided shall be considered confidential and shall not be communicated to third parties without the express permission of the holder during the validity of the permit for investigation or the granting of exploitation.

The data relating to mineral resources other than those regulated by this Law and the general technical or statistical information that may periodically be used are exempted from this confidentiality. make public the Ministry of Industry and Energy or the competent authority of the Autonomous Community in such a way as to be determined by regulation.

In the case of exploration authorizations, the confidential character shall be maintained for the five-year period from the date of completion of the field work.

3. Any information and technical documentation generated by prospecting programmes in exploration permits, research permits and operating concessions shall be submitted to the competent authority which has granted them.

4. The Autonomous Communities shall in turn transmit the information referred to in the case of exploration authorisations and research permits which they have granted, as well as the information and technical documentation, to which paragraph 3 of this Article refers, which will be incorporated into the Special Technical File.

CHAPTER II

From Scan and Research

Article 13. Free activities.

Ground surface exploration of a purely geological nature may be carried out freely throughout the national territory.

Article 14. Scan authorizations.

1. The Ministry of Industry and Energy, or the competent authority of the Autonomous Community when affecting its territorial scope, may authorise in areas free areas of geophysical or other exploration which do not involve the execution of deep perforations as defined in the regulations.

2. Applicants for exploration authorisations shall demonstrate the following extremes in terms of the relevant development regulations:

a) Legal, technical and financial capacity of the applicant.

b) The exploration programme, with an indication of the techniques to be used and environmental protection measures.

c) Situation of places where the scan plan is to be undertaken.

3. In no case will these explorations be authorized with a monopoly character or create exclusive rights.

Article 15. Research permissions.

1. The investigation permits shall be granted by the Government or by the governing bodies of the Autonomous Communities when it affects their territorial scope and shall confer the exclusive right to investigate the areas to which they are referred for a period of time. Six years.

By way of exception, this period may be extended, at the request of the person concerned, for a period of three years. The extension grant shall mean the reduction of the original area of the permit by 50 per 100 and shall be subject to compliance by the holder of the permit for the obligations established for the first period of validity.

2. The areas of the research permits will have a minimum of 10,000 hectares and a maximum of 100,000 hectares.

3. The surfaces of the permits shall be demarcated by geographical coordinates, with deviations of up to 4 per 100 of the maximum limits being allowed for each research permit.

Article 16. Request and record.

1. The research permit shall be requested from the Ministry of Industry and Energy or from the relevant organ of the Autonomous Community when it affects its territorial scope. The Ministry shall have a Special Public Register, without prejudice to possible territorial records, in which the identity of the applicant, the day of filing, the serial number corresponding to the request and other circumstances.

The communication procedure will be established in the Register of information regarding the research permits granted by the Autonomous Communities.

2. The applicant for the research permit must prove to the competent authority the following extremes in the terms in which each development legislation is available:

a) Legal, technical and economic-financial capacity of the applicant.

b) Surface of the research permit that will be delimited by its geographic coordinates.

(c) Project of research, comprising the annual work plan, the investment plan, environmental protection measures and the appropriate restoration plan to the proposed work plan.

(d) A proof of having entered the security referred to in Article 21 of this Law.

Article 17. Competing offers.

1. Within 30 days of entry into the relevant Register of the application, the competent authority shall check whether the applicant meets the requirements of this Title.

2. Where the applicant does not meet those requirements, the application shall be refused. If it is satisfied, the publication shall be ordered in the "Official State Gazette" or in the "Official Journal of the Autonomous Community" of the technical data referred to in Article 16 of this Law, and of an advertisement in the form established by the Regulation. to develop this Title so that, within a period of two months, tenders may be submitted in competition or that they may be opposed by those who consider that the requested permit invades another or some concession of exploitation of the Hydrocarbons, whether in force or in processing. The concurrence of any of the limiting circumstances detailed in this Title may also be invoked, by way of opposition.

This procedure will not apply to the too many people who each Administration will be able to grant freely in favor of the holders of research permits to be established by their development regulations.

3. Once the request has been published in the "Official Gazette" or in the "Official Journal of the Autonomous Community", the holder of the same and those who present offers in competition may submit, within two months, a sealed contract which contains a proposal for improvement of the previous conditions offered, and will only be opened after the deadline has expired.

4. No further applications on the same surface shall be admitted for the two-month period as long as the decision is taken.

Article 18. Procedure.

1. The procedure for the award, the form of submission of tenders and the minimum investments to be made during each period of validity shall be regulated.

2. The resolution on the granting of the research permit will be adopted by Royal Decree or in the form that each Autonomous Community establishes for those corresponding to its territorial scope, and must be expressly resolved oppositions that would have been formulated.

3. The granting resolution shall set out the minimum work to be carried out by the successful tenderers, including environmental protection work, up to the time of their termination or the waiver of such permits.

Article 19. The concurrency of requests.

In case of two or more requests for the same area, the competent authority, for the territorial scope, will decide to consider jointly as causes of preference the following circumstances:

(a) Greater amount of investment and speed of implementation of the investment programme.

b) Greater technical and financial capacity to carry out the proposed exploratory programme.

c) Entitlement to a border permit or permissions.

d) Priority at the date of submission of requests.

Article 20. Contest for areas not granted.

The Council of Ministers, acting on a proposal from the Minister for Industry and Energy, or the governing bodies of the Autonomous Communities, may in the field of their powers, when they consider it necessary to obtain the best offer It is in the general interest to open competition on certain areas not granted or to be dealt with by means of a notice published in the 'Official Gazette' or in the 'Official Journal of the Autonomous Community', awarding them to the contestant who, meeting the required requirements, offer the best conditions.

Article 21. Warranty.

1. The security required in Article 16 shall be fixed in accordance with the investment plan and the restoration plan submitted by the applicant and shall be responsible for the fulfilment of the tax, social security and restoration obligations, as well as the payment of fines and penalties.

2. The security to be lodged in favour of the Acting Administration shall consist of one of those provided for in Article 3 of the Regulation of the General Deposit Box, approved by Royal Decree 161/1997 of 7 February, or an autonomous rule which, where appropriate, appropriate.

3. The value of the required security shall be fixed and regularly updated for the new permits and concessions granted, mainly considering the market values of the operations in the sector.

4. The holder or the operator of each research permit or concession of exploitation shall be responsible for the presentation and maintenance, to the Ministry of Industry and Energy or the corresponding organ of the Autonomous Community, of the permits of its territorial scope, 100 per 100 of the guarantee.

5. In the event of refusal or withdrawal of the permit or the termination of the permit, provided that the holder has fulfilled his obligations, the deposit shall be returned to the person concerned or the guarantee left without effect within the time limits that are determined.

6. In the event that the guarantee for non-compliance with the obligations referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article is executed in whole or in part, the holder shall be obliged to replace the security within the time limit which is laid down in the Regulation and in the case of non-compliance, the permit will be cancelled.

Article 22. Development of tasks and jobs.

1. The holder of a research permit shall, in any event, be obliged to develop the work programme, the work of recognition and the investments within the time limits specified in the decisions to grant the competent.

2. Exceptionally, and in cases of force majeure, the competent body may amend the time limits referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the work programme and the investment plan, and even transfer obligations under the investment plan of the permits to others, following the resignation of the former and provided that they are of the same holder and have been granted by the same competent body.

3. The holder of a research permit who discovers hydrocarbons shall be obliged to inform the Administration which has granted the permit of investigation and, in any case, to the Ministry of Industry and Energy, and may use them to the extent that they require the own operations of the investigation and in any of the areas that have been or are awarded to it.

Article 23. Concurrency of mining rights.

1. Hydrocarbon research permits may be granted even in cases where other mining rights are granted on all or part of the same area in accordance with the applicable regulations.

2. The granting of research permits under this Law shall not prevent the allocation of permits or concessions relating to other mineral deposits and other geological resources on the same areas of authorisations, permits or concessions.

3. Regulations shall determine how to resolve any incidents which may arise as a result of a permit for the exploitation of hydrocarbons and other mineral substances and other geological resources in an area. In the event that the work is incompatible, definitively or temporarily, the Ministry of Industry and Energy or the competent authority of the Autonomous Community, if both activities are to be carried out within its territorial scope, will decide on the substance or resource the holding of which is of greatest interest. The holder who is granted the priority shall pay the person to whom the compensation is refused, as appropriate, for any damage caused to him. If the incompatibility is temporary, the suspended tasks may be resumed after the latter has disappeared.

CHAPTER III

From the exploit

Article 24. Concession of exploitation of deposits and underground storage.

1. The concession of exploitation confers on its owners the right to carry out exclusively the exploitation of the field of hydrocarbons in the areas granted for a period of thirty years, renewable for two successive periods of ten, when the the activity carried out by the operator is the exploitation of hydrocarbon deposits.

The holders of an operating concession shall have the right to continue the research activities in those areas and to obtain authorizations for activities provided for in this Title.

2. The holders of an operating concession may freely sell the hydrocarbons obtained to the authorised subjects for purchase and processing in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

3. The granting of the holding confers on its holders the exclusive right to store hydrocarbons of own production or property of third parties in the subsoil of the area granted and will be granted for a period of fifty years, renewable by two years. successive periods of 10 years, where the activity carried out by its holder is the storage of hydrocarbons.

4. In those cases where the holders of a holding concession store hydrocarbons in a field, which is or has been a producer of hydrocarbons, the duration of such concession shall be up to ninety-nine years.

Article 25. Application for an operating concession.

1. The exploitation concessions may only be requested by the holders of research permits on the same areas and shall be resolved by the General Administration of the State within three months.

2. The holder of the research permit, in the terms that are regulated, must prove to the Ministry of Industry and Energy the following extremes:

a) Situation, extent and technical data of the concession of exploitation to justify your request.

b) General operating plan, investment programme, environmental impact study and, where applicable, estimated recoverable reserves and production profile.

c) Plan for decommissioning and abandonment of facilities after the operation has been completed, as well as recovery of the facility.

(d) A proof of having entered the guarantee in the General Deposit Box.

3. The Government shall authorise, after reporting by the Autonomous Community concerned, the granting of the holding by Royal Decree. The Royal Decree will lay down the basis of the proposed operating plan, the liability insurance that will be required by the holder of the concession and the economic provision of dismantling. Where reasons of general interest are recommended in the operating plan, it may be amended by Royal Decree, after reporting by the Autonomous Community concerned.

However, as set out in the preceding paragraph, when the operating concession relates to natural gas underground storage that is not of a strategic storage condition due to its characteristics, the Government authorisation shall be carried out after a favourable report from the Autonomous Community concerned.

4. The concessionaire shall submit to the Ministry of Industry and Energy, three months before the beginning of each calendar year, an annual work plan which shall be in accordance with the operational plan in force.

5. If the time limit for a research permit has expired before the granting of the requested holding has been granted, the permit shall be extended until the decision of the concession file is resolved.

Article 26. Area concerned and does not affect a concession for exploitation.

1. The areas which are the subject of a holding may be in the form requested by the petitioner, but must be defined by the grouping of quadrillaters of one minute's side, in coincidence with whole minutes of latitude and length, attached to at least one of its sides.

2. The area of an operating concession shall be adapted to the minimum dimensions necessary for its protection.

3. The part of the area concerned with an investigation permit which is not covered by the operating concessions granted shall be declared free and registrable.

Article 27. Conditions and guarantees.

1. Dealers in their operating tasks shall comply with the technical conditions and requirements to be determined in a regulated manner.

2. The security required by Article 16 of this Law shall be determined on the basis of the investment programme submitted by the applicant and shall be responsible for the fulfilment of the tax, social security, decommissioning and recovery, as well as the payment of fines which come in accordance with the sanctioning regime provided for in Title VI.

3. The guarantee of the research permit may be adapted to the requirement for the granting of the holding, in terms of the terms to be regulated.

Article 28. Extension of the operating concessions.

1. Extensions of concessions for the exploitation of deposits and underground storage, in accordance with the provisions of Article 24 of this Law, shall be requested from the body which has granted the concession for which the extension is requested.

2. The extension shall be granted provided that the holder has fulfilled the obligations committed during the previous period of validity and maintains his business in accordance with his operating plan.

Article 29. Reversion of installations.

1. The cancellation or termination of an operating concession shall give rise to its immediate reversal to the State which may require the operator to dismantle the holding facilities.

In the event that the dismantling is not requested, the wells, permanent equipment for the exploitation and conservation of those and any stable works of work incorporated in such a way will be returned free of charge to the State. permanent to the work of exploitation.

2. The Administration may authorise the holder of a holding and at his request the use of the facilities of any kind and stable works located within the concession of holding and incorporated in a permanent manner the operating tasks and which, in accordance with the provisions of this Article, revert to the State, if at the time of the reversal they were used for the service of concessions of exploitation or permits of investigation of the same holder, in the conditions to be regulated.

3. Where an operating concession is extinguished by the expiry of its period and is the subject of a tender for subsequent award, it shall have the preference to acquire it on an equal footing with the concessionaire.

CHAPTER IV

From authority and jurisdiction

Article 30. Jurisdiction.

The holders of exploration authorizations, research permits or operating concessions will be subject to the same issues as Spanish laws and courts.

Article 31. Administrative inspection.

1. The Ministry of Industry and Energy, or the competent authority of the Autonomous Community in the research permits it grants when affecting its territorial scope, may, at any time, inspect all regulated activities and activities. in this Title, in order to verify compliance with the obligations arising from the holders.

2. The Ministry of Industry and Energy, or the competent authority of the Autonomous Community in the authorizations and research permits it grants when affecting its territorial scope, may request the presentation by the holders of permits and concessions from the annual accounts, which may be required to be duly audited, as well as the practice of additional audits on those extremes deemed necessary for the activity of hydrocarbon exploitation in the national territory of the undertaking concerned.

Article 32. Activities in the marine subsoil.

The activities covered by this Title that are carried out in the subsoil of the territorial sea and in the other seabed that are under national sovereignty shall be governed by this Law, by the legislation in force of coasts, sea territorial, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, and by international agreements and conventions of which the Kingdom of Spain is a party.

When the scope of these activities comprises at the same time land zones of a single Autonomous Community and of the marine subsoil, prior report of the Autonomous Community concerned will be required.

CHAPTER V

From nullability, expiration, and extinction

Article 33. Nulliability of authorizations, permissions, and concessions.

1. The authorisations, permits and concessions referred to in this Title shall be void where they are granted in contravention of the provisions of this Law.

2. Permits and concessions that overlap others already granted will be void. Nullity shall only affect the overlapping extension where the remainder of the permit or grant is sufficient to ensure that the conditions required in this Title are met.

Article 34. Extinction.

1. The authorisations, permits and concessions covered by this Title shall be extinguished:

a) For non-compliance with the conditions of its granting.

b) By expiration of the expiration of your deadlines.

c) By the full or partial waiver of the holder, once the conditions in which they were granted have been fulfilled.

d) By the dissolution or liquidation of the incumbent company.

e) For any other causes established by the laws.

2. When a permit or concession is extinguished, the security or the part of the guarantee that corresponds to the partial extinction shall be returned to the holder, unless the performance of the permit or concession is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 21 of this Law.

3. Where an operating concession is extinguished by the expiry of its period and is the subject of a tender for subsequent award, it shall have the preference to acquire it on an equal footing with the concessionaire.

Article 35. Deadlock of the case.

1. Where the processing of a file is due to the applicant for an account attributable to the applicant, the competent authority shall inform the applicant that, after three months, the expiry of the file shall be revoked, and in the case of a permit to (a) the holder shall lose in favour of the competent authority the deposit or guarantee deposited.

2. Where the suspension is agreed on the grounds not attributable to the holder, the permit or concession shall be extended for the duration of the suspension.

Article 36. General rules.

The provisions of this Chapter are without prejudice to the general provisions of Law No 30/1992 of 26 November 1992 on the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and the Common Administrative Procedure, and provisions that develop it.

TITLE III

Oil-derived product market management

CHAPTER I

General provisions

Article 37. Regime of activities.

1. Petroleum refining activities, the transportation, storage, distribution, and sale of petroleum products, including liquefied petroleum gases, may be conducted freely in the terms provided for in this article. Law, without prejudice to the obligations which may be derived from other provisions, from the relevant sectoral legislation and, in particular, from the tax authorities, from those relating to the organisation of the territory and the environment and the protection of the environment. consumers and users.

2. The activities of import, export and intra-Community trade in crude oil and petroleum products shall be carried out without further requirements than those resulting from the application of Community legislation, without prejudice to the provisions of the applicable tax.

Article 38. Prices.

Oil product prices will be free.

CHAPTER II

Liquid Hydrocarbons

Article 39. Refining.

1. The construction, operation or closure of the refining facilities shall be subject to the system of prior administrative authorisation in accordance with the terms laid down in this Law and in its implementing provisions.

The administrative authorisation for the closure of a refining facility may impose on its holder the obligation to proceed to its decommissioning.

The substantial transmission or modification of these facilities must be communicated to the granting authority of the original authorization.

2. For the purpose of obtaining such authorisations, applicants must prove the following:

a) The technical and security conditions of the proposed facilities.

b) Proper compliance with environmental protection conditions.

c) The adequacy of the site of the installation to the spatial planning regime.

3. The authorisations referred to in this Article shall be regulated and shall be granted by the Ministry of Industry and Energy, in accordance with the principles of objectivity, transparency and non-discrimination.

Article 40. Transport and storage.

1. The construction and operation of installations for the transport or storage of petroleum products, where the latter are intended to provide service to operators referred to in Article 42 of this Law, shall be subject to the a system of prior administrative authorisation in accordance with the terms laid down in this Law and its implementing provisions.

The transmission or closure of these facilities must be communicated to the granting authority of the original authorization.

2. Applicants for authorisation for transport facilities or storage parks for petroleum products shall demonstrate the following points:

a) The technical and security conditions of the proposed facilities.

b) Proper compliance with environmental protection conditions.

c) The adequacy of the installation site to the territory management regime.

3. The authorisations referred to in this Article shall be regulated and shall be granted by the competent authority in accordance with the principles of objectivity, transparency and non-discrimination taking into account the criteria laid down in this Article. of planning arising from Article 4 of this Law.

Article 41. Third-party access to transport and storage facilities.

1. Holders of fixed installations for the storage and transport of petroleum products, approved in accordance with the provisions of Article 40 of this Law, shall allow access by a negotiated procedure to third parties. non-discriminatory, transparent and objective technical and economic conditions, applying prices to be made public. However, the Government may establish access tolls for island territories and for those areas of the national territory where alternative transport and storage infrastructure does not exist or are considered insufficient.

The communication procedure will be established for the National Energy Commission of the conflicts that may arise in the negotiation of contracts for access to transport facilities or storage.

2. Where the applicant has an obligation to maintain minimum security stocks, in accordance with Article 50 of this Law, he may request the provision of the storage service for such stocks, which shall be be granted on the basis of the operational use contracted. If there is no available capacity for all claimants in the service, the existing one with a proportionality criterion will be assigned.

3. They shall have the right of access to transport and storage facilities by wholesale operators, as well as consumers and traders of petroleum products which are determined to be determined on the basis of their level of consumption. annual.

4. Operators may refuse access to third parties in the following cases:

a) That there is no available capacity during the contractual period proposed by the potential user.

b) That the applicant is not aware of the payment of obligations arising from previous uses.

5. Access to the network may also be refused where the applicant company or the company to which it acquires the product, directly or through agreements with other supplying undertakings, or those to which any of them are related, radiate in a country where similar rights are not recognised and consider that a change in the principle of reciprocity may result for the undertakings to which access is required. All this, without prejudice to the criteria to be followed in respect of undertakings from Member States of the European Union in accordance with the uniform legislation in the field to be established.

Article 42. Wholesale operators.

1. Operators shall be operators wholesale of refineries, their majority-owned subsidiaries and those subject to the authorisation of the activity referred to in this Article.

2. The wholesale operators shall be responsible for the sale of petroleum products for subsequent retail distribution.

3. Applicants for authorisations to act as wholesale operators shall demonstrate compliance with the following conditions:

a) Your legal, technical and economic-financial capacity for the performance of the activity.

(b) Ensure compliance with minimum security stock maintenance obligations, as provided for in Article 50 of this Law.

4. A Register is created, in the Ministry of Industry and Energy, of wholesale operators of petroleum products.

Article 43. Retail distribution of petroleum products.

1. The retail distribution activity of petroleum products shall comprise:

(a) The supply of fuels and fuels to vehicles in facilities enabled for this purpose.

b) The supply to fixed installations for consumption in the installation itself.

c) The supply of kerosene to aviation.

d) The supply of fuel to vessels.

e) Any other supply that is intended to consume these products.

2. The activity of retail distribution of fuel and petroleum fuels may be freely exercised by any natural or legal person.

The facilities used for the exercise of this activity must be provided with the necessary administrative authorizations for each type of installation, in accordance with the additional technical instructions they provide the technical and safety conditions of such installations, as well as complying with the rest of the rules in force in each case, in particular on metrology and metrology and consumer protection; and users.

3. The exclusive supply arrangements to be concluded between the wholesale operators and the owners of facilities for the supply of vehicles shall, if such owners so request, collect the firm sale of the vehicles in their closed clause. mentioned products.

Companies that distribute or supply fuel and oil fuels should require, to the holders of the fixed receiving facilities for consumption in the installation itself, the documentation and accreditation of the fulfilment of its obligations.

When under the exclusive contractual supply links, both on a firm and a commission basis, facilities for the supply of fuels or fuels to vehicles are supplied by a single supplier. an operator who has his or her brand image in the installation, shall be entitled, without prejudice to the other powers included in the contract, to establish the appropriate inspection or monitoring systems for the control of the origin; volume and quality of the fuels delivered to consumers and to verify that they are correspond to those supplied to the installation.

Operators shall be required to give account to the competent authorities, if they verify deviations which may constitute evidence of consumer fraud and of the refusal which, where appropriate, occurs at the time of verification.

In these cases, the competent authority shall take the necessary measures to ensure the protection of the interests of consumers and users.

4. The inspection and monitoring activities of the wholesale operators, as referred to in the previous paragraph, shall be carried out with a procedure which ensures the possibility for the owners or managers of the installation to contrast the two parts of the tests performed.

Article 44. Registration of retail distribution facilities.

1. The Autonomous Communities shall constitute a Register of retail distribution facilities in which all facilities that develop this activity in its territorial scope must be registered, after accreditation of the compliance for such installations of the legal and regulatory requirements that are required.

2. The Ministry of Industry and Energy shall establish a register of retail distribution facilities to enable the exercise of the powers of the General Administration of the State.

Reglamentarily, the procedure for communicating the data of the facilities that have been registered by the Autonomous Communities in their respective Registers will be established.

CHAPTER III

Liquefied petroleum gases

Article 45. Wholesale operators.

1. Subject to the approval of the activity referred to in this Article, operators shall be the wholesale operators of liquefied petroleum gases.

2. The packaging activities and their subsequent wholesale distribution, as well as the wholesale distribution of such bulk gases, shall be the responsibility of the wholesale operators of liquefied petroleum gases.

In the package containing liquefied petroleum gas, sufficient marking or identification of the wholesale operator carrying out its distribution shall be indicated.

3. For the purposes of obtaining the authorisations referred to in paragraph 1, applicants must prove that the following conditions are met:

Your legal, technical, and economic-financial capacity to perform the activity.

Rely on the means necessary to comply with minimum security stock maintenance obligations, as provided for in Article 50 of this Law.

Compliance with storage facilities and, where appropriate, packaging, technical and safety conditions to be established in regulation.

4. The persons authorised to carry out these activities must have at the disposal of the retail trade in liquefied petroleum gases, and, where appropriate, their customers, a permanent technical assistance service of the facilities of its users to ensure the proper functioning of the facilities.

5. Where the installation receiving the supply of liquefied petroleum gases in bulk is intended to be distributed by pipeline, the legal system laid down in Chapter V of Title IV shall apply.

6. The retail distributors of liquefied petroleum gases in bulk and the retail marketers of liquefied petroleum gases shall be responsible for ensuring that their facilities meet the technical and safety conditions that they provide. The regulations are enforceable as well as their correct maintenance.

Wholesale operators shall require distributors and marketers to supply them with the evidence of compliance with the above obligations.

Article 46. Retail distributors of liquefied petroleum gases in bulk.

1. They shall be retail distributors of liquefied petroleum gases in bulk, those subject to the authorisation of the activity referred to in this Article.

2. In order to obtain such authorisations, applicants must prove that the following conditions are met:

Your legal, technical, and economic-financial capacity to perform the activity.

Compliance with your storage facilities for technical and security conditions that are regulated.

3. Holders of liquefied petroleum gas receiving facilities in bulk for consumption shall be responsible for ensuring that their installations comply with the technical and safety conditions which they are required to be required, as well as their correct conditions. maintenance.

Companies that supply liquefied petroleum gases in bulk shall require the holders of the facilities to provide evidence of compliance with the above obligations.

4. The authorisation referred to in this Article shall not be required for the sale of liquefied petroleum gases in bulk for supply to vehicles from fixed retail distribution facilities for petroleum products. regulated in Article 43 of this Law.

Article 47. Retail marketing of liquefied petroleum gases packaged.

1. The retail marketing of liquefied petroleum gases shall be made freely by any natural or legal person.

Facilities intended for the storage and placing on the market of packages of liquefied petroleum gases must comply with the technical and safety conditions that they are required to comply with.

2. The exclusive supply arrangements for liquefied petroleum gases which are packaged between the operators and traders referred to in this Article shall not be established, without any exception than those which are made between those operators and traders. to commission integrated into their distribution networks.

Distribution networks with exclusive agents must ensure that the users who request it are placed under the home supply of liquefied petroleum gases.

3. The retail market for liquefied petroleum gases must be provided to its customers for a permanent technical assistance service of consumer facilities by itself or through a wholesale operator, so that An appropriate service is guaranteed to all users.

4. The holders of liquefied petroleum gas consumption facilities shall be responsible for ensuring that their installations comply with the technical and safety conditions which they require to be required, as well as for the correct maintenance. of the same.

Article 48. Register of wholesale operators of liquefied petroleum gases.

The Ministry of Industry and Energy is created the Register of wholesale operators of liquefied petroleum gases, in which the authorized subjects must be registered to carry out the activities referred to in the Article 45 of this Law.

Reglamentarily, the procedure for the communication of the data to be included in the said Registry shall be established.

CHAPTER IV

Provisioning Warranty

Article 49. Security of supply.

1. All consumers shall be entitled to the supply of petroleum products on the national territory, under the conditions laid down in this Law and in their implementing rules.

2. In situations of supply shortages, the Council of Ministers may, by agreement, adopt in the field, with the duration and exceptions to be determined, inter alia, some or some of the following measures:

(a) Limitations of the maximum speed of road traffic on public roads.

b) Limitation of the circulation of any vehicle types.

c) Limitation of ship and aircraft navigation.

d) Limitation of schedules and opening days of facilities for the supply of petroleum products.

e) Suspension of exports of energy products.

(f) Submitting to an intervention regime for the minimum security stocks referred to in the following Article.

g) Limitation or allocation of supplies to consumers of all types of petroleum products, as well as restrictions on the use thereof.

(h) Impose the holders of hydrocarbon exploitation concessions referred to in Title II with the obligation to supply their product for domestic consumption.

i) Intervening the sale prices to the public of petroleum products.

(j) Any other measures that may be recommended by the international bodies of which the Kingdom of Spain is a party, to be determined in accordance with those conventions in which the Kingdom of Spain is participating or subscribed in respect of which similar measures are envisaged.

In relation to such measures, the remuneration scheme applicable to those activities which are affected by the measures taken shall also be determined by ensuring, in any event, a balanced distribution of costs.

Article 50. Minimum security stocks.

1. Any operator authorised to distribute petroleum products on a national territory, and any undertaking which develops a retail distribution of fuel and petroleum fuels not purchased from the regulated operators in this Law, must maintain at all times minimum security stocks of the products in the quantity, form and geographical location that the Government determines regulations, up to a hundred and twenty days of their annual sales. This maximum may be reviewed by the Government where the international commitments of the State so require.

Consumers of fuels and fuels, in the part not provided by the operators regulated in this Law, will also have to maintain minimum security stocks in the amount that will be legally enforceable. taking into account their annual consumption.

For the purposes of calculating minimum security stocks, which shall be of a monthly nature, all stocks held by the operators and undertakings referred to in the first subparagraph shall be considered as a whole of the national territory.

2. In the case of liquefied petroleum gases, wholesale distributors of this product, as well as traders or consumers who do not purchase the product from authorized distributors, shall be obliged to maintain minimum stocks of security up to a maximum of thirty days of your annual sales or consumption.

3. The inspection of compliance with the obligation to maintain minimum security stocks shall be carried out by the Ministry of Industry and Energy when the subject is a wholesale operator and the Autonomous Administrations when the the obligation to retail distributors or to consumers.

The information communication procedure shall be established between the public administration responsible for the inspection and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Corporation of the Petroleum Products referred to in this Regulation. Article 52.

Article 51. Strategic stocks.

1. The part of the minimum qualifying security stocks as strategic stocks shall be determined, corresponding to the Corporation referred to in Article 52 of its constitution, maintenance and management.

2. There shall be no strategic stocks within the minimum safety stocks corresponding to liquefied petroleum gases.

Article 52. Entity for the constitution, maintenance and management of security stocks.

1. The Petroleum Products Strategic Reserves Corporation will have as its object the constitution, maintenance and management of strategic reserves and control of the minimum security stocks provided for in the previous articles. Likewise, as a corporation governed by public law with its own legal personality, it shall act under the rule of private law and shall be governed by the provisions of this Law and its provisions of development. The Corporation shall be subject, in the exercise of its activity, to the guardianship of the General Administration of the State, which shall exercise it through the Ministry of Industry and Energy.

2. The Corporation shall be exempt from Corporate Tax on income derived from financial contributions made by its members.

The contributions made by the members, as soon as they contribute to the Corporation's reserve endowment, will not be fiscally deductible for the purposes of determining their tax bases for the Company Tax. Such contributions shall be computed to determine the increases or decreases in assets that correspond to the members of the Corporation, due to their absence or modification of the amount of their mandatory stock, according to the regulation of these assumptions.

The income to be shown in the transactions referred to in the preceding paragraph shall not entitle the deduction by double taxation of dividends in the part corresponding to non-integrated income in the tax base. of Corporation's Corporation Tax.

Also, it will be exempt from the Corporate Tax the income that the Corporation could obtain as a result of the operations of disposal of strategic stocks, income that will not be able to be distributed between members, neither of loans or similar financial operations with them.

3. In order to ensure compliance with the obligation to maintain strategic stocks, the Corporation may acquire crude oil and petroleum products and enter into contracts with the limits and conditions to be determined.

Any disposal of strategic stocks by the Corporation will require prior authorization from the Ministry of Industry and Energy and must be made at a price equal to the weighted average acquisition cost or market, if it were higher, except for certain regulations. The Corporation shall also account for its stocks at the weighted average cost of acquisition since the acquisition.

Members shall contribute to the financing of the Corporation, cede or lease the stock and provide facilities in the form that is determined to be regulated.

The financial contribution of each member shall be established on the basis of the costs incurred by the Corporation for the formation, storage and preservation of the strategic stocks it is required to maintain, as well as of the cost of the other activities of the same. In addition, such financial contribution should enable the Corporation, in the terms of certain regulations, to provide the necessary reserves for the proper exercise of its activities.

The purchase, sale and lease operations of strategic reserves, as well as those relating to their storage, shall be in accordance with standard contracts, the model of which shall be approved by the Ministry of Industry and Energy.

4. The Corporation shall also have the objective of controlling compliance with the obligation to maintain minimum security stocks in accordance with the provisions of Article 50 of this Law. To this end, it may collect the information and carry out the necessary inspections, as well as promote, where appropriate, the initiation of the sanctioning dossier where appropriate.

Those who are obliged to maintain minimum security stocks, because in the exercise of their activity are supplied with fuels and petroleum fuels not acquired from the operators regulated in this Law, they will be able, in the conditions and cases determined in accordance with the rules laid down in Article 50 of the Law by the payment of a quota per tonne of product imported or acquired for the purposes of Article 50 of the Law consumption, intended to finance the costs of setting up, storing and conserving the minimum security stocks that correspond to you, including strategic ones.

This fee will be determined by the Ministry of Industry and Energy with the necessary periodicity and will be perceived by the Corporation in the form that is determined to be regulated.

5. The functions of the Corporation will be developed and its organization and operating system will be established. The wholesale operators referred to in Article 42 of this Law, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Energy and the National Energy Commission, shall be sufficiently represented in their administrative bodies.

Representatives of the Corporation's member operators shall be part of their Assembly and their vote shall be graduated according to the volume of their annual financial contribution.

The Chairman of the Corporation and the voice portion of its governing body that is regulated by the Minister of Industry and Energy will be determined. The holder of that department may impose its veto on those agreements of the Corporation that infringe the provisions of this Law and provisions of development.

Article 53. General obligations.

Those under Article 50 of this Law are required to maintain minimum security stocks, as well as any company that provides logistics services for petroleum products. the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Industry and Energy in respect of its facilities and maintenance, safety, product quality and information provision. They shall also be obliged to make available the priority supplies which are indicated for reasons of strategy or difficulty in supply.

TITLE IV

Sorting the fuel gas supply by pipeline

CHAPTER I

General provisions

Article 54. Scheme of activities.

1. The activities of manufacture, regasification, storage, transport, distribution and marketing of gaseous fuels for their supply by channeling, may be carried out freely in the terms provided for in this Title, without (a) prejudice to obligations arising from other provisions, and in particular from prosecutors and those relating to the organisation of the territory and the environment and the defence of consumers and users.

2. The activities of import, export and trade in gaseous fuels shall be carried out without further requirements than those resulting from Community legislation.

Article 55. System of authorisation of installations.

1. They shall require prior administrative authorisation in accordance with the terms laid down in this Law and provisions to develop them, the following facilities for the supply to users of gaseous fuels by channelling:

(a) Plants for the regasification and liquefaction of natural gas and for the manufacture of manufactured or synthetic fuels or mixtures of combustible gases with air.

b) Natural gas storage, transportation and distribution facilities.

c) The storage and distribution of liquefied petroleum gases, manufactured gaseous fuels, and synthetic and gas mixtures and air for pipeline supply.

Activities related to liquefied petroleum gases that are distributed to final consumers, packaged or in bulk, shall be governed by the provisions of Title III.

2. The following facilities may be made freely, without further requirements than those relating to compliance with the technical safety and environmental provisions:

(a) Those that are related in the previous paragraph when their object is their own consumption, not being able to supply to third parties.

(b) Those relating to the manufacture, mixing, storage, distribution and supply of gaseous fuels from a producer centre where the gas is a by-product.

(c) The storage, distribution and supply of liquefied petroleum gases and natural gas from a user or users of the same block of dwellings.

(d) Direct lines consisting of a natural gas pipeline whose exclusive object is the connection of the facilities of a qualified consumer with the gas system.

3. No administrative authorization shall be required for the projects of installations necessary for the national defense considered to be of military interest, in accordance with Law 8/1975 of March 12, of zones and installations of interest to the national defense, and their development regulations.

Article 56. Manufacture of combustible gases.

1. For the purposes set out in this Law, the manufacturing of combustible gases shall be considered, provided that these are intended for the final supply to consumers by pipeline, the following activities:

a) The manufacture of manufactured or synthetic gaseous fuels.

b) The mixture of natural gas, butane or propane with air.

2. The manufacture of combustible gases shall comply with the criteria for the planning of hydrocarbons.

3. In relation to the administrative authorisation, it shall apply to it in accordance with Article 73 of this Law.

Article 57. Security of supply.

The supply of gaseous fuels by pipeline will be made to all consumers who demand it, including in the geographical areas belonging to the corresponding authorization and under the conditions of quality and safety to be regulated by the Government, after consultation with the Autonomous Communities.

CHAPTER II

Natural Gas System

Article 58. Subjects acting on the system.

Activities for the supply of natural gas by pipeline will be developed by the following subjects:

(a) Carriers are the legal persons holding facilities for the regasification of liquefied natural gas, transport or natural gas storage.

Carrier facilities shall constitute a transport subsystem where the supply of the transport subsystem exceeds 3 per 100 of the market consumption.

b) Distributors, are those legal persons holding distribution facilities, which have the function of distributing natural gas by pipeline, as well as building, maintaining and operating the distribution to place the gas at the points of consumption.

(c) Marketing companies are commercial companies which, by accessing third-party facilities under the terms set out in this Title, acquire natural gas for sale to consumers or others. marketers.

Article 59. Gas system and basic natural gas network.

1. The gas system shall comprise the following facilities: those included in the core network, secondary transport networks, distribution networks and other complementary facilities.

2. For the purposes set out in this Law, the basic natural gas network shall be composed of:

a) The natural gas primary transportation pipelines at high pressure. Those whose maximum design pressure is equal to or greater than 60 bars shall be considered as such.

b) Liquefied natural gas regasification plants that can supply the gas system and natural gas liquefaction plants.

c) Natural gas strategic storage, which can be supplied by the gas system.

d) Basic network connections with natural gas fields inside or with storage.

e) The international connections of the Spanish gas system with other systems or with offshore fields.

3. Secondary transport networks are formed by the maximum design pressure pipelines between 60 and 16 bars.

4. Distribution networks shall comprise pipelines with maximum design pressure equal to or less than 16 bars and those which, irrespective of their maximum design pressure, are intended to drive gas to the consumer on the basis of a pipeline from the basic or secondary transport network.

Article 60. System operation.

1. The activities carried out by the subjects referred to in Article 58 shall be carried out under free competition, in accordance with the provisions of this Law and provisions which develop it.

Regasification, strategic storage, transport and distribution are of a nature of regulated activities, the economic and operational regime of which will be in line with the provisions of this Law.

2. The placing on the market shall be exercised freely in the terms provided for in this Law and its economic regime shall be determined by the conditions agreed between the parties.

3. For the purposes of gas acquisition, consumers are classified as:

Qualified consumers, such as those whose facilities located on the same site have at each moment the consumption provided for in the fifth transitional provision. These consumers will acquire the gas to the traders in freely agreed conditions or directly.

They will have in any case the status of qualified consumers the holders of electricity production facilities for the consumption of electricity when they enter into competition according to Law 54/1997, of 27 November, of the electrical sector.

Unqualified consumers who will acquire the gas from the distributors under tariff rates.

To address the tariff consumption that is made in the scope of your network, the distributors will purchase gas from the carriers.

4. Third-party access to the facilities of the basic network and to the transport and distribution facilities under the technical and economic conditions laid down in this Law is guaranteed. The price for the use of these facilities will be determined by the toll approved by the Government.

5. Unless otherwise stated, the transfer of ownership of the gas shall be understood to be produced at the time when the gas ownership has entered the premises of the purchaser.

In the case of marketers, the transmission of the property of the gas shall be understood to be produced, unless otherwise agreed, when the gas ownership has entered the premises of its client.

6. The activities for the supply of natural gas to be developed in the island and extra-island territories shall be subject to a special regulatory regulation, following agreement with the Autonomous Communities and Cities concerned and shall be subject to the specificities arising from their territorial status.

Article 61. Gas acquisitions.

1. They may purchase natural gas for consumption in Spain:

Carriers for sale to other carriers, as well as to distributors who are connected to their networks to service supplies at the rate to unskilled consumers.

Marketers for sale to qualified consumers or other marketers.

Qualified consumers.

2. Subjects authorised to acquire natural gas shall have the right of access to regasification, storage, transport and distribution facilities on the terms that they regulate.

Article 62. Accounting and reporting.

1. Entities that develop some or some of the activities, as referred to in Article 58 of this Law, shall keep their accounts in accordance with Chapter VII of the Companies Act, even if they do not have such a character.

The government will regulate the adjustments that are necessary for the assumption that the owner of the activity is not an anonymous company.

2. Institutions shall explain in the memory of the annual accounts the criteria applied in the cost sharing with respect to the other entities in the group performing different gas activities.

These criteria shall be maintained and shall not be amended, except in exceptional circumstances. The amendments and their justification shall be explained in the annual report to the relevant financial year.

3. Entities operating in the gas system shall provide the Administration with the information required to them, in particular in relation to the supply and gas supply contracts they have concluded and with their states. financial, with the latter being verified by external audits of the company itself.

When these entities are part of a business group, the reporting obligation will also extend to the company exercising control of the company that carries out gas activities whenever it acts in any energy sector and to those other companies in the group carrying out operations with which it carries out activities in the gas system.

They must also provide the competent administration with all kinds of information about their activities, investments, quality of supply, measured by the standards indicated by the Administration, markets served and planned with the utmost detail, prices supported and passed on, as well as any other information which the competent authority creates in a timely manner for the exercise of its functions.

4. The entities shall provide in their annual report information on the activities carried out in the field of energy saving and energy efficiency and environmental protection.

Article 63. Separation of activities.

1. The commercial companies which develop some or some of the regulated activities referred to in Article 60.1 of this Law must have as their exclusive social object the development of the same ones without being able, therefore, to carry out marketing activities.

2. Companies engaged in the marketing of natural gas shall have as their sole social object in the gas sector such activity, not being able to carry out regasification, storage, transport or distribution activities.

3. In a group of companies incompatible activities may be carried out in accordance with the preceding paragraphs, provided that they are exercised by different companies. To this end, the social object of an entity may comprise such activities provided that a single activity is expected to be exercised directly and the others through the ownership of shares or units in other companies.

4. Natural gas undertakings which carry out more than one of the activities referred to in Article 60.1 of this Law shall keep separate accounts for each of them in their internal accounts, as they would be required if those activities were to be carried out. were carried out by different companies, in order to avoid discrimination, subsidies between different activities and distortions of competition.

Carriers must also keep separate accounts of their gas purchase and sale operations and the distributors of their marketing activity at a rate.

5. Those trading companies which carry out regulated activities may take shares in companies carrying out activities in other economic sectors other than the natural gas sector, subject to the authorisation to be granted. refers to the 11th, third, third, 13th provision of this Law. In any event, the companies referred to in this Article shall keep separate accounts for all activities outside the natural gas sector and those of any nature they carry out abroad.

CHAPTER III

Technical management of the natural gas system

Article 64. System technical management rules.

1. The Ministry of Industry and Energy, prior to the report of the National Energy Commission and the Monitoring Committee of the Gas System, will approve the system of technical management of the system that will have the objective to promote the correct operation The technical assistance of the gas system and ensure the continuity, quality and safety of the natural gas supply, coordinating the activity of all carriers.

2. The system of technical management of the system referred to in the preceding paragraph shall at least cover

following aspects:

(a) The mechanisms to ensure the necessary level of natural gas supply of the system in the short and medium term and the maintenance of minimum safety stocks.

b) the coordination procedures to ensure the proper operation and maintenance of the facilities for regasification, storage and transport, in accordance with the necessary reliability and safety criteria; specifically contemplating the provision of action plans for the replacement of the service in the event of general failures in the supply of natural gas.

(c) Procedures for the control of natural gas inputs and outputs to or from the national gas system.

(d) The procedure for calculating the daily balance of each authorised subject to introduce natural gas into the system.

e) The procedure for the management and use of international interconnections.

f) The procedure for measures to be taken in the event of emergency and supply situations.

3. Carriers, and in particular the operators of the transport subsystems, shall propose the technical management rules of the system referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and shall apply them in compliance with the principles of objectivity, transparency and non-discrimination.

Article 65. Monitoring Committee of the Gas System.

To ensure the transparency of the basic variables of the system, a Monitoring Committee of the Gas System will be created, which will be part of the carriers, distributors, marketers and consumers.

The organization, composition, and functions of the Gassist System Monitoring Committee shall be established in a regulatory manner.

CHAPTER IV

Regasification, transportation, and storage of natural gas

Article 66. The secondary transport network for gaseous fuels.

1. The secondary natural gas transport network consists of the maximum design pressure pipelines between 60 and 16 bars, the compression stations, the regulation and measurement stations.

In addition, all communications assets, protections, control, ancillary services, land, buildings and other ancillary elements necessary for the transport network are considered to be constitutive elements of the transport network. proper operation of the specific facilities of the transport network defined above.

2. Carriers shall be responsible for the development and extension of the transport network defined in this Article, in such a way as to ensure the maintenance and improvement of a network configured under consistent and consistent criteria.

3. A number of technical standards shall be laid down to ensure the reliability of the gas supply and the installations of the transport network and those connected to it. These rules will aim to ensure the protection and safety of persons and their property, the quality and reliability of their operation, the unification of supply conditions, the provision of good service and shall be objective and not discriminatory.

Article 67. Administrative authorities.

1. They require prior administrative authorization, in accordance with the terms laid down in this Law and in its provisions for the development, construction, operation, modification, and closure of basic network facilities and transport networks. Article 59, without prejudice to the legal regime applicable to underground storage in accordance with Title II of this Law.

The transmission of these facilities must be communicated to the granting authority of the original authorization.

The administrative authorisation for the closure of an installation may impose the obligation on the operator to complete the installation.

The authorizations for the construction and operation of the transport pipelines subject to compulsory planning, in accordance with Article 4 of this Law, must be granted by means of a procedure that ensures the concurrency, promoted and resolved by the competent authority.

2. Applicants for authorisations for gas installations referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall have sufficient evidence of the following requirements:

a) The technical and security conditions of the proposed facilities.

b) Proper compliance with environmental protection conditions.

c) The adequacy of the site of the installation to the spatial planning regime.

d) Your legal, technical and economic-financial capacity for project implementation.

Applicants must be in the form of a Spanish company or, where appropriate, another Member State of the European Union with permanent establishment in Spain.

3. The authorisations referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be granted by the competent authority, without prejudice to any concessions and authorisations for the protection of the public domain which are necessary, in accordance with other provisions. provisions which are applicable, the relevant sectoral legislation and in particular those relating to spatial planning, town planning and the environment.

The procedure and granting of the authorization will include the processing of public information.

Granted authorisation and for the purpose of ensuring compliance with its obligations, the holder shall provide a guarantee of around 2 per 100 of the budget of the premises.

Authorization under no circumstances shall be deemed to be granted on a monopoly basis or grant exclusive rights.

The lack of express resolution of the applications for authorisation referred to in this Article shall have an adverse effect. In any event, ordinary appeal may be brought before the relevant administrative authority.

4. The transport installation authorisations shall contain all the requirements to be observed in their construction and operation.

Where authorised installations have to be connected to existing installations of different holders, the operator must allow the connection under the conditions which they regulate are established.

5. Failure to comply with the conditions and requirements laid down in the authorisations or the substantial variation of the budgets that determined their grant may result in their revocation.

The competent authority shall refuse authorisation where the legally intended requirements are not met or the undertaking does not guarantee the legal, technical and economic capacity necessary to undertake the proposed activity.

Article 68. Obligations for holders of authorisations for the regasification, transport and storage of natural gas.

The holders of administrative authorisations for the regasification of liquefied natural gas and for the transport and storage of natural gas shall have the following obligations:

(a) Carry out their activities in the form authorized and in accordance with the applicable provisions, providing the service on a regular and continuous basis, with the quality levels to be determined and maintained in the facilities in the appropriate conditions of conservation and technical suitability, following, where appropriate, the instructions given by the competent authority.

b) Make the natural gas acquisitions necessary to address the supply requests of other carriers, as well as the distributors connected to their networks.

c) Facilitate the use of their facilities for the gas movements resulting from the provisions of this Law, and admit the use of all their facilities by all authorized subjects, in conditions not discriminatory, in accordance with the technical standards.

d) Be enrolled in the Administrative Registry of Gas Carrier Facilities.

e) Celebrate regasification, storage, and transportation contracts with those with access to their facilities.

f) Provide any other company that performs storage, transport and distribution activities, sufficient information to ensure that gas transport and storage can be produced in a manner compatible with the safe and effective operation of the interconnected network.

g) Provide the information in the detail and frequency with which it is required by the competent authority and communicate to the Ministry of Industry and Energy the contracts for access to its facilities. They shall also communicate to the Autonomous Administrations the contracts for access to their facilities when these facilities are wholly or partly situated in that Autonomous Community and the contractor of those services is a consumer. qualified, a marketer or a carrier with facilities in that Autonomous Community.

Article 69. Rights of holders of facilities for regasification, transport and storage of natural gas.

The holders of regasification, transport and storage facilities shall be entitled to the recognition by the Administration of remuneration for the exercise of their activities within the gas system in the terms set out in Chapter VII of this Title of this Law.

They may also require that installations connected to their property meet the established technical conditions and be used appropriately.

Article 70. Access to the transport networks.

1. The operators of the plant must allow the use of the same to the qualified consumers, the traders and the hauliers who fulfil the required conditions, by means of the separate or joint procurement of the transport, regasification and storage services, on the basis of principles of non-discrimination, transparency and objectivity. The price for the use of transport networks will be determined by the regulatory tolls approved.

2. Regulations governing the conditions of access of third parties to installations, the obligations and rights of holders of facilities related to third party access, as well as those of qualified consumers, shall be regulated. marketers and carriers. The minimum content of contracts will also be defined.

3. Access to the network may be refused in the event of insufficient capacity or when access to the network would prevent the fulfilment of the supply obligations which would have been imposed or due to serious economic and financial difficulties which could result from the execution of the compulsory purchase contracts, under the conditions and with the procedure to be established in accordance with the criteria of the uniform Community legislation at their disposal.

4. It may also, on the basis of the National Energy Commission, refuse access to the network, where the gas supply undertaking is directly or by means of agreements with other supply undertakings, or those to which any of the they are linked, radiating in a country where similar rights are not recognised and it is considered that a change in the principle of reciprocity may result for the undertakings to which access is required, without prejudice to the criteria to continue with respect to companies of Member States of the European Union under the legislation uniform in the subject matter which it lays down.

Article 71. Gas Carrier Facilities Administrative Registry.

It is created in the Ministry of Industry and Energy, an Administrative Registry of Gas Carrier Facilities, in which all the facilities of transport, storage and regasification will have to be registered. they have been authorised and the conditions of such authorisations. Regulations, prior to the report of the Autonomous Communities, will establish their organization, as well as the procedure for the registration and communication of data to the Administrative Registry of Gas Carrier Facilities.

The Autonomous Communities with competence in this field will be able to create and manage the corresponding territorial records in which all the facilities located in the territorial scope of those must be registered.

CHAPTER V

Distribution of gaseous fuels by pipeline

Article 72. Distribution regulation.

1. The distribution of gaseous fuels shall be governed by this Law, its implementing rules and by the rules governing the Autonomous Communities in the field of their competences. The Government shall also lay down the rules required for the coordination, operation and remuneration of the system.

2. The purpose of the distribution system shall be to establish and implement common principles to ensure their proper relationship with the other gas activities, to determine the conditions of gas transit through such networks, to establish the sufficient equality between those who carry out the activity throughout the territory and the setting of common conditions comparable to all users.

Article 73. Authorisation of natural gas distribution facilities.

1. Natural gas distribution facilities are considered to be gas pipelines with maximum design pressure equal to or less than 16 bars and those other than, regardless of their maximum design pressure, intended to drive gas to the consumer. starting from a pipeline of the basic or secondary transport network, including existing facilities between the transport network and the supply points.

2. They shall be subject to prior administrative authorization, in accordance with the terms laid down in this Law and in its provisions for the development, construction, modification, operation and closure of natural gas distribution facilities with independence. of your destination or use.

The transmission of these facilities must be communicated to the granting authority of the original authorization.

The administrative authorisation for the closure of an installation may impose the obligation on the operator to complete the installation.

3. Applicants for authorisations for gas installations referred to in the previous paragraph shall provide sufficient evidence of compliance with the following requirements:

a) The technical and security conditions of the proposed facilities.

b) Proper compliance with environmental protection conditions.

c) The adequacy of the site of the installation to the spatial planning regime.

d) Your legal, technical and economic-financial capacity for project implementation.

e) Applicants shall take the form of a public limited liability company of Spanish nationality or, where appropriate, another Member State of the European Union with permanent establishment in Spain.

4. The authorisations referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall be granted by the competent authority, without prejudice to any concessions and authorizations which are necessary, in accordance with other applicable provisions, the corresponding sectoral legislation and, in particular, those relating to the organisation of the territory and the environment.

The authorization procedure will include the processing of public information and the form of resolution in the concurrency case of two or more authorization requests.

Given the authorisation and for the purpose of ensuring compliance with its obligations, the holder shall provide a guarantee of around 2 per 100 of the budget of the premises.

Authorization under no circumstances shall be deemed to be granted on a monopoly basis or grant exclusive rights.

The lack of express resolution of the applications for authorisation referred to in this Article shall have an adverse effect. In any event, ordinary appeal may be brought before the relevant administrative authority.

5. The authorisations of distribution facilities shall contain all the requirements to be observed in their construction and operation, the delimitation of the area in which the supply is to be provided, the commitments to expand the network in the area to be assumed by the applicant undertaking and, where appropriate, the time limit for the execution of such installations and their characterisation.

Where authorised installations have to be connected to existing installations of different holders, the operator must allow the connection under the conditions which they regulate are established.

6. Failure to comply with the conditions, requirements laid down in the authorisations or the substantial variation of the budgets that have determined their granting may result in their revocation.

The competent authority shall refuse authorisation where the legally intended requirements are not met or the undertaking does not guarantee the legal, technical and economic capacity necessary to undertake the proposed activity.

7. Authorizations for the construction and operation of distribution facilities may be granted by means of a procedure that ensures concurrency, promoted and resolved by the competent authority.

Article 74. Obligations of natural gas distributors.

Natural gas distributors ' obligations:

(a) To make the supply at a rate to any petitioner of the same and to extend it to any subscriber who requests it, provided that there is a capacity for it and whenever the place where the delivery of the gas is to be carried out within the geographical scope of the authorisation, by subscribing to the relevant credit policy or, where applicable, the supply contract.

b) Perform the gas acquisitions required to perform the provisioning.

(c) Carry out their activities in the form authorised and in accordance with the applicable provisions, supplying gas to consumers on a regular and continuous basis, in accordance with the instructions given by the competent authority in the relationship with third party access to their distribution networks, where appropriate, with the quality standards to be determined and maintained in the appropriate conditions of conservation and technical suitability.

d) Proceed for the extension of distribution facilities, within the geographical scope of their authorisation, where this is necessary to meet new demands for gas supply, without prejudice to the resulting application of the application of the regime which is regulated for the purposes of the undertaking.

Where there are several distributors whose facilities are eligible for expansion to meet new supplies and none of them decides to undertake it, the competent authority shall determine which of these distributors it must be performed, subject to its conditions.

(e) to make contracts for third-party access to the natural gas network under conditions to be determined in a regulatory manner.

f) Provide sufficient information to transport, storage and natural gas marketing companies to ensure that gas transport can be produced in a manner compatible with safe and effective operation system.

g) Communicate to the competent authority that it has granted the authorization of installations, the relevant modifications of its activity so that it sends the information to the Ministry of Industry and Energy, to the effects for the determination of tariffs and the fixing of their remuneration arrangements.

(h) Communicate to the competent authority that the information to be determined on prices, consumption, invoicing and sales conditions applicable to consumers, and volume, is transmitted to the Ministry of Industry and Energy corresponding to categories of consumption, as well as any information related to the activity that they develop within the gas sector.

They must also communicate to each Autonomous Community all the information required by the Autonomous Community, relating to its territorial scope.

i) Be enrolled in the Administrative Registry of Distributors, Marketers, and Qualified Consumers of gaseous fuels by pipeline referred to in this Title.

j) Perform the affected and the hook of new users according to what is regulated.

k) Proceed to the measurement of supplies in the form that is regulated, preserving, in any case, the accuracy of the same and the accessibility to the corresponding apparatus facilitating the control of the Competent authorities.

Article 75. Rights of distributors.

1. Distributors shall have the right to purchase natural gas from the carrier to whose network they are connected to the transfer price to be established in accordance with Chapter VII of this Title for the supply to customers of tariffs. authorized.

2. They shall also be entitled to obtain the remuneration corresponding to the provisions of Chapter VII of this Title.

Article 76. Access to natural gas distribution networks.

1. The owners of the distribution facilities must allow the use of the same to the qualified consumers and to the traders who fulfil the conditions required, on the basis of principles of non-discrimination, transparency and transparency. and objectivity. The price for the use of distribution networks will be determined by the administratively approved tolls.

2. The distributor may refuse access to the network only if it does not have the necessary capacity. The refusal shall be reasoned. The lack of necessary capacity may be justified only by safety, regularity or quality of supplies, in the light of the requirements to be laid down for these purposes.

3. Regulations governing the conditions of third-party access to facilities, the obligations and rights of holders of facilities relating to the access of third parties, as well as of qualified consumers, shall be regulated. dealers and distributors. The criteria for the contracts will also be defined.

Article 77. Distribution of other gaseous fuels.

1. Installations for the distribution of other gaseous fuels, the fuel-gas manufacturing plants referred to in Article 56, the storage facilities for liquefied petroleum gases intended for supply are considered as installations for the supply of gaseous fuels. of these by channelling and the necessary pipelines, for the supply from the previous plants or storage to the final consumers.

2. The authorization of these facilities shall be governed by the provisions of Article 73, assessing the desirability of designing and constructing the compatible facilities for the distribution of natural gas, and shall have the obligations and rights which are (a) they are listed in Articles 74 and 75 of this Law, with the exception of obligations relating to third-party access to facilities and the right to purchase natural gas at the disposal price.

3. The operators of the facilities which regulate this article shall have the right to transform the same, in compliance with the technical safety conditions applicable to them, for use with natural gas, for which they must apply the relevant authorisation for the granting of the authorisation, subject to the provisions of the natural gas distribution facilities.

Article 78. Hotlines.

1. A natural gas pipeline complementary to the interconnected network is understood by direct line for supply to a consumer.

2. Qualified consumers will be able to build direct lines by being excluded from the remuneration scheme which is laid down in this Law for transport and distribution activities.

3. The construction of hotlines is excluded from the application of the provisions on expropriation and easements laid down in this Law, subject to the general legal order.

The opening to third parties of the use of the line will require the same to be integrated into the gas system according to what is regulated.

CHAPTER VI

Supply of gaseous fuels

Article 79. Provisioning.

1. The supply of gaseous fuels shall be made by distributors in the case of consumers on a tariff basis, or by traders in the case of qualified consumers.

2. The supplies to consumers under tariff arrangements will be governed by a credit policy or contract approved by Royal Decree, which may take into account the situation of those who for their volume of consumption or conditions of supply require a specific contractual treatment.

3. The supply to consumers shall be regulated by regulation, at least for the following aspects:

a) The modalities and conditions of supply to consumers.

(b) The terms in which the obligation to supply, the causes and the procedure for refusal, suspension or deprivation of supply shall be effective.

(c) The verification and inspection regime for consumer reception facilities.

d) The procedure for measuring consumption by installing measuring devices and verifying them.

e) The procedure and conditions for billing and collection of supplies and services performed.

Article 80. Natural gas marketers.

Those legal persons who wish to act as marketing persons shall have prior administrative authorization, which shall be regulated and granted by the competent administration, in the light of compliance with the the requirements to be laid down in regulation, including, in any case, sufficient legal, technical and economic capacity of the applicant. The application for administrative authorisation to act as a marketer shall specify the territorial scope in which the activity is intended to be developed.

In no case shall the authorisation be understood to be granted under a monopoly, nor shall it grant exclusive rights.

Article 81. Obligations of marketers.

They will be obligations of marketers, the following:

(a) Be enrolled in the Administrative Registry of Distributors, Dealers and Qualified Consumers, which is set out in this Law.

b) Meet the minimum stock maintenance obligations for security and diversification of supplies set out in Chapter VIII.

c) Perform the development of your activity in coordination with the carrier or distributor.

d) Ensure the security of the supply of natural gas to its customers by subscribing to contracts for the regasification of liquefied natural gas transport and storage that are accurate.

e) To issue the periodic information that is determined to be regulated by the competent authority so that, where appropriate, it is communicated to the Ministry of Industry and Energy. It will also refer to the Autonomous Communities the information that is specifically requested for them in relation to their territorial scope.

Article 82. Rights of marketers.

Marketers will have the following rights:

a) Make gas acquisitions in the terms set out in Chapter II of this Title.

b) Selling natural gas to qualified consumers and other licensed marketers in freely agreed conditions.

c) Access third-party facilities under the terms set forth in this Title.

Article 83. Obligations and rights of distributors and marketers in relation to supply.

1. The following shall be the obligations of distributors in relation to the supply of gaseous fuels:

(a) Atender, on an equal basis, the demands for new gas supplies in the areas in which they operate and formalize the supply contracts in accordance with the provisions of the Administration.

The conditions and procedure for setting up and the engagement of new users to the distribution networks will be regulated.

(b) Proceed to the measurement of supplies in the form that is regulated, while preserving, in any case, the accuracy of the supplies, and the accessibility to the corresponding apparatus, facilitating the control of the Competent authorities.

c) Apply to consumers the appropriate rate.

d) Inform consumers in the choice of the most convenient rate for them, and on how many issues they could request in relation to the gas supply.

e) Implement the Administration's approved demand management programs.

f) Seek a rational use of energy.

g) Acquire gas needed for the development of your activities.

h) Maintain an operating system that ensures permanent attention and resolution of incidents that, as a matter of urgency, can be presented in the distribution networks and in the receiving facilities of consumers at rate.

i) Perform pre-supply tests that are defined as regulated.

j) Carry out inspection visits to existing receiving facilities, with the periodicity defined regulentarily.

2. They shall be obligations of the traders in relation to the supply:

(a) Proceed directly or through the corresponding distributor to the measurement of supplies in the manner that is regulated, while preserving, in any case, the accuracy of the same and the accessibility to the corresponding apparatus, facilitating the control of competent administrations.

b) Implement the administration's approved demand management programs.

c) Seek rational use of energy.

d) Acquire gas needed for the development of its activities.

e) Provide your clients with the information and advice they may request in relation to the gas supply.

f) Perform pre-supply tests that are defined as regulated.

g) Conduct inspection visits to existing receiving facilities, with the periodicity defined regulentarily.

3. Distributors and marketers shall be entitled to:

(a) Require that users ' reception facilities and apparatus meet the technical and construction conditions to be determined, as well as the good use thereof and the fulfilment of the conditions laid down for them to the supply occurs without deterioration or degradation of its quality for other users.

b) Facturing and collecting the realized provisioning.

c) Request verification of the proper functioning of the equipment measuring equipment.

4. Without prejudice to the liability arising out of the obligations of distributors and traders in accordance with the provisions of this Article, the holders of natural gas receiving facilities or facilities for consumption, shall be responsible for their proper maintenance in the technical and safety conditions that are required.

5. The Ministry of Industry and Energy creates the Administrative Registry of Distributors, Dealers and Qualified Consumers of gaseous fuels by channeling. Regulations, prior to the report of the Autonomous Communities, shall establish their organization, as well as the procedures for the registration and communication of data to this Registry.

The Autonomous Communities with competence in the field will be able to create and manage the corresponding territorial records.

Article 84. Demand management programs.

1. Distributors and marketers, in coordination with the various actors acting on demand, will be able to develop action programmes which, through appropriate management of demand, will improve the service provided to users. and energy efficiency and savings.

2. Without prejudice to the above, public administrations will be able to adopt measures that encourage the improvement of service to users and efficiency and energy saving, either directly or through economic operators whose object is savings and savings. introduction of the highest efficiency in the final use of natural gas.

Article 85. Savings and energy efficiency plans.

The General Administration of the State and the Autonomous Communities, in the field of their respective territorial competences, may, through plans for energy saving and efficiency, establish the basic principles and norms for enhance the actions aimed at achieving the optimization of the returns of energy transformation processes, inherent in productive or consumption systems.

When such savings and energy efficiency plans establish incentives with public funds, those authorities may require the natural or legal persons involved to submit an audit. energy of the results obtained.

Article 86. Quality of the supply of gaseous fuels.

1. The supply of gaseous fuels must be carried out by the companies holding authorisations provided for in this Law, on a continuous basis when it is contracted and with the characteristics that are determined to be determined.

To do this, the gas companies will have the necessary staff and resources to guarantee the quality of the service required by the regulations in force.

Gas companies and, in particular, distributors and marketers will promote the incorporation of advanced technologies in the measurement and control of the quality of the supply of gaseous fuels.

2. If the low quality of the distribution of an area is continuous, or could produce serious consequences for the users, or there are special circumstances that could endanger safety in the gas service, the Administration The competent authority shall, in accordance with Article 1 (1) of Regulation (EU) No Regulation

provide for the implementation and implementation of the guidelines.

3. If it is found that the quality of the individual service provided by the company is lower than that required, the reductions in the invoicing paid by the users shall apply, in accordance with the procedure laid down in the effect.

Article 87. Power inspector.

1. The bodies of the competent administration shall, on their own initiative or at the request of a party, provide the practice of all inspections and verifications to verify the regularity and continuity of supply, as well as for ensure the safety of persons and property.

2. The inspections referred to in the preceding paragraph shall take care, at all times, to maintain the characteristics of the gaseous fuels supplied within the officially approved limits.

Article 88. Supply suspension.

1. The supply of gaseous fuels to consumers may be suspended only where such possibility is established in the supply contract, which may never invoke technical or economic problems which make it difficult, or because of force majeure or situations which may be derived from a threat to the safety of persons or things, except as provided for in the following paragraphs.

In the case of supply to qualified consumers, the supply or suspension conditions that would have been agreed will be met.

2. It may, however, be temporarily suspended where this is essential for the maintenance, security of supply, repair of facilities or improvement of the service. In all of these cases, the suspension shall require prior administrative authorisation and communication to users in the form that it is regulated.

3. Under the conditions to be determined, the supply of gaseous fuels may be suspended by channelling private consumers subject to tariff when two months have elapsed since they were required to be supplied. the payment, without the fact that the payment had been made cash. For this purpose, the requirement shall be made by any means which permits the receipt by the person concerned or his representative to be recorded, as well as the date, identity and content of the request.

In the case of public administrations, after two months since they had been required to pay the payment without the payment of the same, interest that will be equivalent to the legal interest of the increased money by 1.5 points. If the payment has not been made effective four months after the first requirement, the supply may be interrupted.

In no case can the supply of gaseous fuels be suspended by channeling to those facilities whose services have been declared essential. The criteria for determining which services should be understood as essential will be laid down. However, distribution or marketing undertakings may affect payments they receive from those of their customers who have supplies linked to services declared as essential in a situation of late payment, to the payment of invoices corresponding to those services, irrespective of the allocation that the customer, public or private, would have attributed to these payments.

4. Once you have made the payment of the consumer due to the suspension of the supply, you will be immediately replaced.

Article 89. Technical and safety standards for installations.

1. The production facilities, regasification, storage, transportation and distribution of gaseous fuels, user receiving facilities, consumer equipment, as well as technical and material elements for the installations Gaseous fuels must comply with the relevant technical standards of industrial safety and quality, in accordance with the provisions of Law 21/1992 of 16 July 1992, without prejudice to the provisions of the autonomous rules corresponding.

2. The technical regulations in this field shall be:

a) Protect people and the integrity and functionality of goods that may be affected by facilities.

b) Getting the necessary regularity in supplies.

c) Establish standardisation rules to facilitate inspection of facilities, prevent excessive material diversification and unify supply conditions.

d) Get the most rational and economical use of the facilities.

e) Increasing the reliability of facilities and improving the quality of gas supplies.

f) Protecting the environment and the rights and interests of consumers and users.

g) Getting the right levels of efficiency in gas use.

3. Without prejudice to the other authorisations provided for in this Title and for the purposes provided for in this Article, the construction, extension or modification of gas installations shall require the appropriate administrative authorisation. in the terms that are regulated.

The extensions of the distribution networks, within each approved zone, may be the subject of a joint authorization for all those projected in the year.

Article 90. Risk coverage.

The Government, in accordance with the provisions of Article 30 of Law 26/1984 of July 19, General for the Defense of Consumers and Users, will adopt the necessary measures and initiatives to establish the mandatory the coverage of the risks which, for persons and property, may result from the exercise of the activities covered by this Title.

CHAPTER VII

Economic Regime

Article 91. Regime of activities regulated in the Law.

1. The activities for the supply of gaseous fuels shall be economically remunerated in the manner set out in this Law under the tariffs, tolls and charges to be determined by the Government and the prices paid by the Government. qualified clients, if any.

2. The economic regime of rights to be affected, rental of accountants and other necessary costs linked to the facilities will be established. The rights to be paid for the affected will be unique for the entire territory of the State according to the maximum flow rate requested and the location of the supply. Revenue from this concept shall be considered, for all purposes, to be paid for the distribution activity.

3. The Autonomous Communities, in respect of distributors who carry out their activities in their territorial scope, shall establish the economic system of the rights of discharge, as well as the other costs arising from services necessary to meet the requirements for user supplies.

Article 92. Criteria for the determination of tariffs, tolls and charges.

1. The fees, tolls and charges shall be established in such a way that their determination meets the following criteria as a whole:

a) Ensure the recovery of investments made by the holders in the lifetime of the holders.

b) Allow a reasonable return on invested financial resources.

c) Determine the system of remuneration for operating costs in such a way as to encourage effective management and productivity improvement that will have to be passed on to users and consumers.

(d) Not to produce distortions between the system of supplies under the tariff regime and the system of tariffs.

2. The system for the determination of tariffs, tolls and charges shall be fixed for periods of four years, in the last year of validity for a review and adequacy, where appropriate, of the situation envisaged for the next period.

3. Undertakings carrying out the activities covered by this Title shall provide the Ministry of Industry and Energy with all the information necessary for the determination of the tariffs, tolls and charges. This information shall also be available to the Autonomous Communities which so request, as regards its territorial scope.

Article 93. Rates of gaseous fuels.

The Minister of Industry and Energy through Ministerial Order, after the Agreement of the Government of the Government for Economic Affairs, will dictate the necessary provisions for the establishment of gas sales tariffs natural gas, manufactured gases and liquefied petroleum gases by pipeline for final consumers, as well as prices of natural gas disposal for distributors, establishing the specific values of such tariffs and prices or a system automatic determination and update of the same.

The sales rates to the users will be maximum and will be unique for the entire national territory, without prejudice to their specialties.

Article 94. Tolls and charges.

1. The Minister of Industry and Energy by Ministerial Order, after the Agreement of the Government of the Government for Economic Affairs, will dictate the necessary provisions for the establishment of the tolls and charges of the basic services of access by third parties, establishing the specific values of such tolls or a system of automatic determination and updating of such tolls. The tolls and charges for basic access services by third parties shall be as high as possible.

2. The tolls and charges for the use of regasification, storage and transport networks shall be unique without prejudice to their specialties by levels of pressure and use made of the network.

3. The tolls for the use of the distribution networks shall be unique and shall be determined on the basis of the pressure levels and the characteristics of the consumption.

4. The carriers and distributors must notify the Ministry of Industry and Energy of the tolls they actually apply. This information shall also be available to the Autonomous Communities that request it as regards its territorial scope.

The differences between the approved maximum tolls and those which, if applicable, the carriers and distributors below will be supported by the carriers.

5. The procedure for charging the losses of natural gas incurred in its transport and distribution shall be determined in accordance with the rules of procedure taking into account levels of pressure and forms of consumption.

Article 95. Taxes and taxes.

1. The rates and tolls approved by the Administration for each category of consumption shall not include Value Added Tax.

In case the gas activities were taxed with autonomous or local taxes, the quota of which was obtained by non-uniform rules for the whole of the national territory, at the price of the gas as a result, a territorial supplement may be included, which may be different in each Autonomous Community.

2. In order to ensure that there is greater transparency in gas supply prices, the user shall be broken down in the manner in which the gas supply is regulated, at least the amounts corresponding to the tariff and the taxes tax on gas consumption, as well as territorial supplements when they correspond.

Article 96. Charging and settlement of tariffs and prices.

Gaseous fuel tariffs will be charged by companies that carry out gas distribution activities by selling them to consumers, and the application that proceeds from the sale should be given to the agreement with the provisions of this Law.

The payment procedure to be followed by qualified consumers for their natural gas acquisitions will be established. In any event, qualified consumers must also pay the costs arising from the activities necessary for the supply of gaseous fuels and the costs of diversification and security of supply, where appropriate, in the proportion to them.

Article 97. Price liberalisation.

1. Where the market situation makes it advisable, the Government may agree to the full or partial liberalisation of the tariffs, tolls and charges covered by this Chapter.

2. Exceptionally, the Government may establish maximum gas prices applicable to sales made to qualified consumers, where the lack of development of the gas market or market dominance situations make it advisable.

CHAPTER VIII

Provisioning security

Article 98. Security of supply.

1. Carriers incorporating gas into the system shall be required to maintain minimum safety stocks equivalent to thirty-five days of their firm sales to distributors for the supply to customers under tariff arrangements.

Natural gas marketers must maintain minimum security stocks equivalent to thirty-five days of their firm sales.

Qualified consumers who make use of the right of access and are not supplied with an authorised marketer must maintain minimum security stocks corresponding to thirty-five days of their consumption. firm.

2. This obligation may be complied with by the person liable to the gas of his property or by leasing and hiring, where appropriate, the corresponding storage services. The Ministry of Industry and Energy may, depending on the availability of the system, increase the number of days of strategic storage to a maximum of 60 days of firm sales.

Article 99. Diversification of supplies.

1. Carriers that incorporate gas into the system and marketers must diversify their supplies when in the sum of all of them the proportion of those coming from the same country is greater than 60 per 100.

The Ministry of Industry and Energy shall develop the conditions for compliance with this obligation in accordance with the market situation and may modify the percentage referred to in the preceding paragraph, to the alzaalabaja, depending on the evolution of the international natural gas markets.

2. In the terms that are determined to be determined, the Ministry of Industry and Energy may require similar supply diversification obligations to those set out in the above point to qualified consumers on the part of the their non-acquired consumer consumption when, due to their volume and origin, they may have a negative impact on the supply balance to the domestic market.

3. It shall be exempted from the obligation to diversify the supply of gas purchased to meet the consumption of facilities with alternative supplies guaranteed from other fuel.

Article 100. Control by the Administration.

The competent authority may inspect compliance with the security and diversification requirements and conditions set out in the previous articles, requesting, where appropriate, how much information is required.

Article 101. Emergency situations.

1. The Government shall establish for emergency situations the conditions under which the strategic reserves of natural gas referred to in this Title may be used by those who are obliged to maintain them.

2. The Government in situations of supply shortages or in situations where the safety of persons, equipment or installations or the integrity of the network may be threatened may be adopted in the field, with the duration and exceptions to be determined, among others, some or some of the following measures:

a) Limiting or temporarily modifying the gas market.

b) Establish special obligations on minimum stocks of natural gas security.

c) Suspend or override access rights.

(d) to amend the general conditions of regularity in the supply in general or in relation to certain categories of consumers.

e) Submit to administrative authorization natural gas sales for consumption abroad.

(f) Any other measures, which may be recommended by international bodies, of which Spain is a party or which are determined in accordance with those conventions in which it is involved.

In relation to such measures, the remuneration scheme applicable to those activities which are affected by the measures taken shall also be determined by ensuring, in any event, a balanced distribution of costs.

Article 102. Occupation of public domain, patrimonial and public servitude areas.

1. Holders of concessions, permits or authorizations, as referred to in Article 103.2 of this Law and in the same cases as those referred to therein, shall be entitled to the occupation of the public domain, patrimonial and the public servitude.

2. The authorisation of specific occupation of the public domain, patrimonial and public servitude areas shall be agreed by the competent authority of the public administration of those goods or rights.

The conditions and requirements to be established by the Administrations of the goods and rights for the occupation of the property must be transparent and non-discriminatory in any event.

3. Without prejudice to the application of the provisions of the above paragraphs, the provisions of local regime legislation shall apply to authorisations for the occupation of local property rights or entitlements.

TITLE V

Public domain occupation rights, forced expropriation, easements and property limitations

Article 103. Public Utility Statement.

1. The following facilities are declared to be of public use for the purposes of forced expropriation and exercise of the easement:

(a) The facilities and services necessary for the development of the research and exploitation activities referred to in Title II.

b) The refining facilities, both for new construction and the extensions of the existing ones, the transport facilities by pipeline and the storage of petroleum products, as well as the construction of other means fixed transport of liquid hydrocarbons and their storage facilities.

(c) The facilities referred to in Title IV of this Law.

2. Holders of concessions, permits or authorizations for the development of such activities or for the construction, modification or extension of facilities necessary for them shall enjoy the benefit of forced expropriation and occupation. temporary property and rights requiring the necessary facilities and services, as well as the easement of passage and limitations of the domain, in cases that are necessary for access routes, lines of conduction and distribution of the hydrocarbons, including those necessary to attend to the surveillance, conservation and repair of the facilities.

Article 104. Public utility recognition request.

1. For the recognition of the public utility of the facilities referred to in the previous Article, it shall be necessary for the undertaking concerned to request it, including a specific and individualised relationship of the goods or rights which the applicant consider necessary expropriation or occupation.

2. The request shall be submitted for public information and the bodies concerned shall be informed.

3. After completion of the procedure, the recognition of the public utility will be agreed by the Ministry of Industry and Energy, if the authorization of the installation corresponds to the State, without prejudice to the competence of the Council of Ministers in case of opposition of bodies or other bodies governed by public law, or by the competent body of the Autonomous Communities in other cases.

Article 105. Effects of the public utility declaration.

The declaration of public utility will imply in any event the need for occupation of the goods or for the acquisition of the rights affected and will involve the urgent occupation for the purposes of article 52 of the Law of Expropriation Forzosa, dated 16 December 1954.

Article 106. Extra duty.

As regards the subject matter of this Title, the provisions of the general legislation on forced expropriation and the Civil Code shall be applied in an additional manner where appropriate.

Article 107. Easements and pass-through authorizations.

1. The easements and authorizations of passage which, in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, shall be established shall impose on the other goods in the form and with the scope which are determined in this Law and shall be governed by the provisions of this Law, development provisions and in the rules referred to in the previous Article.

2. The easements and passing authorizations shall include, where appropriate, the occupation of the subsoil by facilities and pipes to the depth and with the other characteristics that they indicate in Regulations and Municipal Ordinance.

3. The easements and authorizations shall also include the right of passage and access, and the temporary occupation of the land or other goods necessary to take care of the surveillance, conservation and repair of the facilities and pipelines.

4. The conditions and limitations to be imposed in each case for safety reasons shall be applied in accordance with the Regulations and technical standards which are for the purposes of being dictated.

TITLE VI

Violations and penalties

Article 108. Violations.

1. Administrative violations are the actions and omissions that are typified in the following articles.

2. The administrative offences set out in this Law shall be without prejudice to the civil, criminal or other responsibilities in which the holders of the undertakings engaged in the activities are liable to incur. refer.

Article 109. Very serious infringements.

1. These are very serious violations:

(a) The carrying out of activities covered by this Law or the construction, extension, operation or modification of facilities affected by them without the necessary concession, administrative authorization or registration in the Registration where appropriate or non-compliance with the requirements and conditions of the registration where the person or property is exposed to manifest danger.

(b) The use of instruments, apparatus or elements subject to industrial security without complying with the technical standards and obligations which, for safety reasons, must bring together the equipment and installations concerned with the activities the purpose of this Act when it is dangerous or serious harm to persons, property or the environment.

c) The refusal to supply gas by channeling to consumers under Title IV tariff arrangements.

d) The refusal to admit inspections or regulatory verifications agreed upon in each case by the competent authority or the obstruction of their practice.

e) The irregular application of prices, rates or tolls of those regulated in this Law.

(f) Any fraudulent manipulation aimed at altering the price or quality of petroleum products or fuel gases or the measurement of the quantities supplied.

(g) Non-compliance by the wholesale operators of petroleum products with the obligations that are deducted from the requirements of Article 43 (3).

h) The performance of incompatible activities in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

(i) The unjustified refusal or alteration of third-party access to facilities in the cases covered by this Law.

(j) Failure to comply with the instructions given by the competent authority where it is detrimental to the functioning of the system.

k) Failure to comply with the minimum safety stock rules laid down in Titles III and IV and failure to comply with the provisions on diversification of supplies laid down in Title IV when they involve significant alteration of the aforementioned stock or diversification schemes, considered to be such non-compliances in monthly periods.

(l) The actions or omissions that assume non-compliance with the measures established by the Government pursuant to the provisions of this Law on situations of supply shortages in Titles III and IV by those who carry out activities covered by this Law and have an appreciable impact on the supply.

2. Serious infringements of the following Article shall also be very serious where, during the three years preceding their commission, the offender has been imposed on the same type of infringement.

Article 110. Serious infringements.

These are serious violations:

(a) The carrying out of activities covered by this Law or the construction, extension or modification of facilities affected by them without the necessary administrative concession or authorization or the non-compliance with requirements and conditions of those requirements which do not have a very serious infringement consideration in accordance with the previous Article.

b) The unjustified interruption or suspension of the activity being carried out by granting or administrative authorization.

(c) The use of instruments, apparatus or elements subject to industrial safety without complying with the technical standards and obligations which, for safety reasons, must bring together the equipment and installations concerned with the activities the purpose of this Act where they are not considered to be very serious in accordance with the previous Article.

(d) The unjustified refusal to supply petroleum products or combustible gases to consumers and users who are not subject to administratively approved tariffs.

e) Failure to comply with any formal obligations imposed on those who engage in the supply of petroleum products or fuel gases to the public through the provision of consumer and consumer rights users.

f) The marketing of liquid hydrocarbons under a brand image that does not correspond to the true origin and identity of the same.

g) Non-compliance with the minimum safety stock rules set out in Titles III and IV and non-compliance with the provisions on diversification of supplies set out in Title IV where it does not constitute very serious infringement in accordance with the previous article, considered to be such non-compliances in monthly periods.

(h) The actions or omissions that assume non-compliance with the measures established by the Government pursuant to the provisions of this Law on situations of supply shortages in Titles III and IV by those who carry out activities covered by this Law and have no appreciable impact on the provision of this provision.

i) Failure to comply with the instructions given by the competent authority when it is not detrimental to the operation of the system.

j) The occasional and isolated refusal to provide the Administration or the National Energy Commission with the information to be claimed in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

k) Repeated breaches of reporting and documentation reporting obligations.

Article 111. Minor infractions.

Minor infractions are those violations of mandatory enforcement provisions that do not constitute a serious or very serious infringement, in accordance with the provisions of the two preceding articles.

Article 112. Graduation of penalties.

The following circumstances will be taken into account for the determination of the corresponding sanctions:

(a) The danger resulting from the infraction for people's lives and health, the safety of things and the environment.

b) The importance of damage or deterioration caused.

c) The damages produced in the continuity and regularity of the supply to users.

d) The degree of participation and the benefit obtained.

e) The intentionality or reiteration in the commission of the infringement.

f) The reiteration by commission within one year of more than one infringement of the same nature, when it has been declared by firm resolution.

Article 113. Penalties.

1. The offences listed in the preceding articles shall be sanctioned:

a) Very serious infractions, with a fine from 100,000,001 to 500,000,000 pesetas.

b) Serious infractions, with a fine from 10,000,001 to 100,000,000 pesetas.

c) Minor infractions, with a fine of up to 10,000,000 pesetas.

2. Where a quantifiable benefit is obtained as a result of the infringement, the fine may be as high as twice the profit.

3. The amount of the penalties shall be graduated on the basis of proportionality criteria and the circumstances specified in the previous Article.

4. The commission of a very serious infringement may lead to the revocation or suspension of the administrative authorisation and the consequent temporary disablement for the exercise of the activity for a maximum period of one year. The revocation or suspension of the authorisations shall in any event be agreed by the competent authority to grant them.

5. The application of the penalties provided for in this Article shall be without prejudice to other legally enforceable responsibilities.

6. Penalties imposed for very serious, once firm, infringements shall be published in the form that is determined to be regulated.

To this end, the Acting Administration shall bring the facts to the attention of the competent authority.

Article 114. Periodic penalty payments.

The competent authority may, irrespective of the appropriate penalties, impose periodic penalty payments where the offending conduct continues and in the event of failure to comply with the requirement to cease.

The fines will be imposed for an amount that will not exceed 20 per 100 of the fine set for the offence committed.

Article 115. Sanctioning procedure.

The procedure for the imposition of sanctions will be in accordance with the principles of Articles 127 to 138 of Law 30/1992, of 26 November, of the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and of the Administrative Procedure. Common, and in accordance with the provisions of Royal Decree 1398/1993 of 4 August 1993, which adopted the Rules of Procedure for the exercise of the right of sanctioning power or the corresponding autonomy rule, without prejudice to the fact that establish procedural specialties for the imposition of sanctions provided for in this Law.

Article 116. Powers to impose sanctions.

1. Competition for the imposition of penalties shall be determined by the jurisdiction to authorise the activity in which the infringement was committed, or by the jurisdiction to authorise the relevant installations.

2. In the field of the General Administration of the State, the very serious sanctions will be imposed by the Council of Ministers and the serious ones by the Minister of Industry and Energy. The imposition of minor penalties shall be the responsibility of the Director-General of Energy.

3. In the area of the Autonomous Communities, it will be provided for in its own rules.

Article 117. Prescription.

The very serious infractions foreseen in this chapter will prescribe three years of your commission; the serious ones, at two years, and the mild ones, at six months.

The penalties imposed for very serious misconduct will be prescribed at three years; those imposed for serious misconduct, at two years and those imposed for minor faults, per year.

ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS

First. Surface canyon.

The holders of research permits and operating concessions covered by Title II shall be obliged to pay the surface fee.

(a) The fee shall be required per hectare per year according to the following scales:

Scale	Pesetas
Research permissions
1. During the permission period	10
	2. During each extension	20

Scale second

Pesetas
Concessions
1. For the first five years	250
2. For the next five years	700
3. For the next five years	1,850
4. For the next five years	2,300
5. For the next five years	1,850
6. For the next five years	950
7. During extensions	700

(b) The surface cannons specified above shall be established in favour of the holder of the public domain, on the first day of January of each calendar year, in respect of all permits or concessions existing on that date, must be satisfied during the first quarter of the same.

(c) When the research permits or operating concessions are granted after the first of January, the annual portion of the annual quotas shall be paid as a fee in the year of the grant. that I measured from the date of the grant to the end of the calendar year. In such cases, the licence fee shall be payable on the day of the granting of the permit or concession and shall be satisfied within 90 days from this date.

d) The modification of the surface canons will be carried out by Royal Decree of the Ministries of Industry and Energy and of Economy and Finance. The modification shall be carried out in the light of market developments in the field of hydrocarbon research and exploitation.

Second. Extinction of the Oil Monopoly concessions.

The concessions of the Petroleos Monopoly for the supply of petrol and gas oils maintained under the provisions of the first provision of Law 34/1992, of 22 December 1992, are definitively extinguished. December. The activities covered by these concessions will continue to be developed in the form of Title III.

Third. Suppliers of service stations and service station managers.

1. The former agents of the supplying apparatus and service station managers referred to in the second and third provisions of Law 34/1992 of 22 December 1992, whose public-law relationship has been extinguished, may be retained. on the holding of the point of sale, under private law provision with the entity holding the Sunday ownership of the facility and the exclusive rights of supply.

2. As long as an agreement on the conditions for the exploitation of the point of sale and the supply of petroleum products with the Sunday holder of the installation is not formalized, the conditions in force at the moment will continue to apply. of the extinction of the relationship of public law.

3. In any event, the former agents and managers shall have the right to remain on the holding for the remainder of the period initially granted and shall receive a commission for the sale of the products on behalf of the holder of the installation whose amount is not may be lower than that laid down in the relations between that holder and the members of the commission operating as tenants other premises of their property.

4. The spouse and children may be subrogated to the holding in the cases and conditions laid down in the rules applicable to the relations processed.

Fourth. Authorisations granted under Law 34/1992 of 22 December.

The authorizations granted pursuant to Law 34/1992 of 22 December, or declared "ex lege" by it, shall be maintained and shall have full effect without the need for ratification, in so far as they do not object to the provided in this Law.

Fifth. Oil installations for use by the Armed Forces.

The inspections and checks of the oil facilities for use by the Armed Forces, which are located within the zone and facilities of interest to the National Defense, will be carried out by the organs. of the Armed Forces.

Sixth. Extinction of concessions.

1. Upon the entry into force of this Law, all concessions for activities included in the public service for the supply of fuel gases by pipeline are extinguished.

Such concessions are replaced in full by the administrative authorizations of those established in Title IV of this Law, which enable the holder to exercise the activities by means of the facilities, which constitute the object of the extinguished concessions.

2. Such authorizations shall be for an indefinite period of time, the reversal of installations referred to in Article 7 (c) of Law 10/1987, of 15 June, being expressly extinguished.

Seventh. Marine transport of liquid and solid hydrocarbons.

The marine transport of hydrocarbons will in any case be adjusted to the regime established by Law 27/1992, of 24 November, of Ports of the State and of the Merchant Navy, as well as the provisions of its regulations of development.

Eighth. Dismissal of resolutions.

Requests for administrative decisions to be made in accordance with this Law may be understood to be disestimated, if no resolution is expressed within the time limit set or determined in its development provisions.

Ninth. Update of the amount of penalties.

The Government, by Royal Decree, will periodically proceed to update the amount of penalties set out in Title VI taking into account variations in consumer price indices.

10th. A company's intervention.

1. Where non-compliance with the obligations of undertakings carrying out the activities and functions covered by this Law may affect the continuity and security of the supply of hydrocarbons, and in order to ensure their maintenance, the The government may agree to the intervention of the relevant company in accordance with the provisions of Article 128.2 of the Constitution, taking appropriate measures to do so.

For these purposes, the following are causes of an enterprise intervention:

a) The company's suspension of payments or bankruptcy.

b) The irregular management of the activity when it is imputable to it and may result in its cessation.

c) The serious and repeated lack of adequate maintenance of facilities that endanger the safety of the facilities.

2. In the above cases, if undertakings which carry out activities and functions or those referred to in this Law do so exclusively by means of installations whose authorization is a matter for an Autonomous Community, the intervention shall be agreed by this one.

11th. National Energy Commission.

First. Legal nature and composition.

1. The National Commission of the Electrical System is deleted as the regulator of the electrical system, at the entry into force of this Law.

2. The National Energy Commission is hereby established as a regulator of the operation of the energy systems, with the aim of ensuring effective competition in these systems and the objectivity and transparency of their operation, for the benefit of all subjects operating on such systems and consumers.

For the purposes of the above paragraph, energy systems, the electricity market as well as both liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon markets shall be understood.

The Commission is set up as a public body with legal personality and its own heritage, as well as full capacity to act. The Commission shall comply with the provisions of Law No 30/1992 of 26 November 1992 on the legal system of public administrations and the common administrative procedure, when exercising administrative powers, on the law of contracts In the case of public administrations, they are engaged in the procurement of goods and services, and are subject to private law.

Staff who provide services at the National Energy Commission will be linked to it by a relationship that is subject to labour law rules. The selection of the same, with the exception of the managerial character, shall be made by public notice and in accordance with procedures based on the principles of equality, merit and capacity. Such staff shall be subject to the system of incompatibilities established in general for staff at the service of public administrations.

The National Energy Commission will annually draft a preliminary draft budget with the structure that the Ministry of Economy and Finance will point out and forward it to the government for its elevation to the government's agreement and subsequent referral to the The General Courts in the General Budget of the State.

The economic and financial control of the National Energy Commission will be carried out by the General Intervention of the State Administration, without prejudice to the functions that correspond to the Court of Auditors.

The National Energy Commission will be attached to the Ministry of Industry and Energy, which will exercise control over its activity and will be governed by the provisions of this Law and the implementing rules that will be dictate, by the provisions of the General Budget Law applicable to it and by Law 6/1997, of 14 April, of the Organization and the Functioning of the General Administration of the State.

3. The Commission shall be governed by a Board of Directors, composed of the President, who shall hold the legal representation of the Commission, by eight vowels and a Secretary who shall act with a voice but without a vote.

The Minister of Industry and Energy, the Secretary of State for Energy and Mineral Resources, or senior position of the Ministry in whom they delegate, will be able to attend the meetings of the Board of Directors, with a voice but without a vote, when the They shall be deemed necessary in the light of the matters covered by the relevant agenda.

4. The President and the members shall be appointed from persons of recognised technical and professional competence, by means of Royal Decree, on a proposal from the Minister for Industry and Energy, after he has appeared and discussed at the competent Commission of the Congress of Deputies, to verify the compliance by the candidates of the conditions indicated in this section.

The President and the vowels of the National Energy Commission will be appointed for a period of six years, and may be renewed for a period of the same duration.

However, the National Energy Commission will partially renew its members every three years. The renewal shall alternatively affect five or four of its members as appropriate.

If, during the period of his term of office, the cessation of one of its members occurs, his successor will cease at the end of his predecessor's term of office. Where the latter ceases to occur before a year has elapsed since the appointment, the limit laid down in the second subparagraph of this paragraph shall not apply, and the term of office may be renewed twice.

5. The President and the vowels shall cease for the following reasons:

(a) Expiration from the term of office, continuing in office until the appointment of new members to replace them.

b) Renunciation accepted by the Government.

(c) Permanent inability to exercise his duties, incompatibility produced after his appointment as a member of the Commission or conviction for criminal offence on the basis of an investigation by the Ministry of Industry and Energy, serious breach of its obligations and cessation by the Government, on a reasoned proposal from the Minister of Industry and Energy.

6. The President and the vowels of the National Energy Commission will be subject to the incompatibilities established for the high positions of the General Administration of the State. When they cease to be in office and for the next two years, they will not be able to engage in any professional activity related to the energy sectors. The economic compensation to be collected under this limitation shall be determined in accordance with this limitation.

7. The resources of the National Energy Commission will be integrated by:

(a) The assets and securities that constitute their assets and the products and income of the equity.

(b) The revenue generated in accordance with the provisions of the applicable sectoral rules.

(c) Where appropriate, transfers made from the General Budget of the State.

Second. Advisory bodies of the Commission.

1. Two Advisory Councils chaired by the President of the National Energy Commission, with a maximum number of 36 members, the Electricity Advisory Council, and 34 members, will be established as advisory bodies of the Commission. Hydrocarbon Advisory Board.

The Electricity Advisory Council will be composed of representatives of the General Administration of the State, the Nuclear Safety Council, the Autonomous Communities, the companies of the electricity sector, the operators of the the market and the system, consumers and users and other social and environmental protection agents.

The Hydrocarbon Advisory Council will be composed of representatives of the General Administration of the State, the Autonomous Communities, oil and gas companies, distributors, and Sales facilities to the public, the Petroleum Products Strategic Reserves Corporation, consumers and users, and other social and environmental protection agents.

2. The Advisory Councils may report on the actions carried out by the National Energy Commission in the performance of their duties. This report will in turn be mandatory for the actions to be carried out in the execution of the second, third, fourth and sixth functions.

3. A Standing Committee will be set up within each of the Advisory Councils to facilitate the work of the Advisory Councils.

The Permanent Commission of the Electricity Advisory Council will be composed of 12 members, according to the following participation: six representatives of the Autonomous Communities, a representative of the production companies, a representative of the distribution companies, as well as a representative of the market operator and a representative of the system operator, a representative of the General Administration of the State and a representative of the consumer qualified.

The representatives of the Autonomous Communities will be appointed as follows: two of the Autonomous Communities with the highest level of electricity production; two of the Autonomous Communities with the highest level of electricity consumption. per inhabitant, and the other two designated, for periods of two years, from among those Autonomous Communities which are not represented on the basis of the above criteria, according to the order deriving from their highest level of production and consumption electrical.

The Permanent Commission of the Hydrocarbons Advisory Council will be composed of 13 members, according to the following participation: a representative of the General Administration of the State, six representatives of the Autonomous Communities, a representative of the wholesale operators of petroleum products, a representative of the retail distributors of petroleum products, a representative of the gas carriers, a representative of the gas distributors, a representative of the gas traders and a representative of the qualified consumers.

The representatives of the Autonomous Communities in the Permanent Commission of the Hydrocarbons Advisory Council will be appointed as follows: two of the Autonomous Communities with a higher level of natural gas consumption, two of the Autonomous Communities with a higher level of consumption of petroleum products and the other two will be designated for two-year periods, from among those Autonomous Communities that are represented on the basis of the criteria above, according to the reverse order derived from applying the above criteria.

Third. Functions of the National Energy Commission.

1. The National Energy Commission will have the following functions:

First: act as an advisory body for energy management.

Second: to participate, through a proposal or report, in the process of drawing up general provisions affecting energy markets, and in particular the regulatory development of this Law.

Third: participate, through proposal or report, in the energy planning process.

Fourth: to participate, by means of a proposal or report, in the process of drawing up projects on the determination of tariffs, tolls and remuneration for energy activities.

Fifth: to report on the authorization files for new energy installations when they are the responsibility of the General Administration of the State.

Sixth: to issue the reports requested by the Autonomous Communities when they consider it appropriate in the exercise of their powers in the field of energy.

Seventh: to dictate the circulars of development and execution of the norms contained in the Royal Decrees and the Orders of the Ministry of Industry and Energy that are dictated in the development of the energy regulations, provided that these provisions enable you to express it for this purpose.

These provisions will receive the denomination of circulars and will be published in the "Official State Gazette".

Eighth: to inspect, at the request of the General Administration of the State or the competent Autonomous Communities, the technical conditions of the facilities, the fulfilment of the requirements laid down in the authorizations, the economic conditions and actions of the subjects as soon as they are likely to affect the application of the rates and remuneration criteria for energy activities, as well as the effective separation of these activities where required.

Ninth: to act as an arbitration body in the conflicts that arise between the subjects engaged in activities in the electric or hydrocarbon sector.

The exercise of this arbitration function shall be free of charge and shall not have a public character.

This arbitration function, which shall be voluntary for the parties, shall be exercised in accordance with Law 36/1988 of 5 December of Arbitration and with the regulatory standard approved by the Government which is issued on the corresponding arbitration procedure.

10th: to determine the subjects whose performance is attributable to the user's supply deficiencies by proposing the measures to be taken.

Eleventh: agree to the initiation of the sanctioning files and to carry out the instruction of the same, when they are of the competence of the General Administration of the State and to inform, when required for it, those (a) sanctioning files initiated by the various public administrations, without prejudice to the powers conferred on the Corporation for Strategic Petroleum Products Reserves in Article 52.4 of this Law.

Twelfth: to ensure that the subjects acting on the energy markets carry out their activities in accordance with the principles of free competition. For these purposes, when the Commission finds evidence of restrictive practices of competition prohibited by Law 16/1989 of 17 July of the Defence of Competition, it will bring it to the attention of the Defence Service of the Competition, by providing all the elements of fact within its scope and, where appropriate, a non-binding opinion of the rating which it deserves.

Thirteenth: to resolve any disputes arising out of contracts relating to third party access to transport networks and, where applicable, distribution, in terms that are regulated by law.

Fourteenth: to authorize holdings made by companies with activities that have the consideration of regulated in any entity that carries out activities of a commercial nature. Authorisations may be refused only as a result of the existence of significant risks or negative, direct or indirect effects on the activities covered by this Law, which may for these reasons be allowed to express authorisations. the conditions under which such operations may be carried out.

15th: to inform the concentration of undertakings or takeover operations of one or more energy companies by another undertaking activities in the same sector where they are to be submitted to the Government for its decision, in accordance with existing competition law.

sixteenth: agree on your organization and internal functioning, select and hire your staff in compliance with the requirements laid down in the current regulations in the field of the General Administration of the State.

Seventeenth: to draw up annually a memory of activities that will be raised to the Government for referral to the General Courts.

Eighteenth: perform those other functions that are attributed to you by the laws or that the government is regulated by the government on a proposal from the Minister of Industry and Energy.

The National Energy Commission's reports provided for in the second, third, fourth and fifth functions of this paragraph will be mandatory.

For reasons of proven exceptionality, the procedure for urgent procedure may be applied, whereby the deadlines will be reduced by half.

2. In relation to the electricity sector, it shall be for the Commission, in addition to the functions referred to in the previous paragraph, to:

First: to settle the costs of transport and distribution of electricity, the permanent costs of the system and those other costs to be established for the system as a whole when its liquidation is expressly entrusted to you.

You will also report semi-annually to the Ministry of Industry and Energy on the liquidation of the energy carried out by the market operator in collaboration with the system operator.

Second: to resolve the conflicts that arise in relation to the economic and technical management of the system and the transportation.

3. In relation to the gas sector, the Commission shall, in addition to the tasks referred to in paragraph 1 above, be responsible for the resolution of any disputes arising in connection with the management of the system.

4. The National Energy Commission may collect from the subjects acting on the energy markets how much information it requires in the exercise of its functions. To this end, the Commission will issue circulars, which must be published in the "Official State Gazette", in which the content of the information to be requested will be presented in a detailed and detailed manner, specifying in a justified manner the function for whose development such information is required and the intended use of such information.

The National Energy Commission may carry out the inspections it deems necessary in order to confirm the veracity of the information that is provided to it in its circulars.

The data and information obtained by the National Energy Commission in the performance of its functions, which have a confidential nature as matters protected by commercial, industrial or statistical secrecy, only may be transferred to the Ministry of Industry and Energy and the Autonomous Communities in the field of their powers. The staff of the National Energy Commission who are aware of this data shall be obliged to keep them in respect of such data.

The entities that must supply such data and information may indicate that some of them consider commercial or industrial importance, the dissemination of which could harm them, and for which they claim confidentiality. in the case of any person or entity other than the National Energy Commission itself, the Ministry of Industry and Energy or the Autonomous Communities, subject to appropriate justification.

The National Energy Commission will decide, in a reasoned manner, on the information that, according to the current legislation, is excepted from the commercial or industrial secret and on the basis of confidentiality.

The National Energy Commission will also have access to records regulated by state energy legislation.

5. Against the decisions taken by the National Energy Commission in the performance of the functions referred to in numbers1 and 2 of this paragraph, and against their acts of procedure in the same matters as they determine the impossibility of continue the proceedings or produce defenceless proceedings, may be brought before the Minister for Industry and Energy.

Except as provided for in the preceding paragraph, the decisions to be taken in the exercise of the second function of paragraph 2 of this paragraph and of the circulars relating to information which shall bring to an end the administrative path.

12th. Funding from the National Energy Commission.

1. The National Energy Commission will assume the obligations and the management of those files that are pending in the National Commission of the Electrical System referred to in Law 54/1997, of 27 November, of the electrical sector, as well as the the remuneration which corresponds, in accordance with that Law, to that Commission.

2. For the purposes of this Law, the financing of the National Energy Commission will integrate the following concepts:

(a) The unit quantity to be determined for the products sold on the domestic market by the operators referred to in Article 42 of this Law.

(b) The surcharge to be imposed on the corresponding tolls or tariffs, which in the case of the electricity sector shall be considered as permanent cost of the system.

13th. Amendment of Law 6/1997 of 14 April.

The first subparagraph of paragraph 1 of the 10th Additional provision of Law 6/1997 of 14 April of the Organization and the Functioning of the General Administration of the State is amended:

" 1. The National Securities Market Commission, the Nuclear Safety Council, the public entity RTVE, the universities not transferred, the Data Protection Agency, the Consortium of the Special Area of the Canary Islands, the National Energy Commission and the The Telecommunications Market Committee will be governed by its specific legislation and supplanted by this Law. "

Fourteenth. Foral tax regimes.

The regulations contained in this Law are without prejudice to the foral tax regimes in force in the Historical Territories of the Basque Country and in the Autonomous Community of Navarra.

15th. Cooperative societies.

Cooperative societies may only carry out the retail distribution activities of petroleum products referred to in Article 43 of this Law with non-member third parties, by establishing an entity with its own legal personality to which the general tax regime applies.

sixteenth. Biofuels.

1. The products listed below are considered to be biofuels and are intended for use as fuel, directly or mixed with conventional fuels:

(a) ethyl alcohol produced from agricultural or plant-based products (bioethanol) is already used as such or after chemical modification.

(b) Methyl alcohol (methanol), obtained from products of agricultural or plant origin, is already used as such or after chemical modification.

c) Vegetable oils.

d) The chemically modified vegetable oil.

2. For the purposes of this Law, the distribution and sale of these products shall be governed by the provisions of Title III thereof.

seventeenth. Law 54/1997, of 27 November, of the electrical sector.

1. Article 12 (1) of Law 54/1997 of 27 November 1997 on the electricity sector is amended as follows:

" 1. The activities for the supply of electricity to be developed in the island or extra-island territories will be the subject of a special regulation which will address the specific features of its territorial location, prior to Agreement with the Autonomous Communities or Cities concerned. "

2. An " additional fifteenth provision is included. Island and extrapenisland electrical systems ", in Law 54/1997 of 27 November of the electricity sector, which is worded as follows:

" 1. Electrical planning, which shall be indicative except in respect of transport facilities, as soon as it affects island or extra-island territories, shall be carried out in accordance with the Autonomous Communities or Cities affected.

2. In the case of island or extra-island territories, there are situations of risk for the supply of electrical energy or situations which may be caused by a threat to physical or physical integrity. the safety of persons, equipment or installations or the integrity of the transmission system or distribution of electrical energy, the adoption of the measures provided for in Article 10 of this Law shall be the responsibility of the Communities or Cities Self-employed persons, provided that such a measure affects only their respective territorial scope. Such measures shall have no economic impact on the electricity system, unless the Ministry of Industry and Energy has previously agreed.

3. The determination of the network operator or managers of the power areas located in island and extra-island territories shall be the responsibility of the respective Autonomous Administration. '

3. A third paragraph is included in the transitional provision fifteenth. Island and extra-island systems, of Law 54/1997 of 27 November of the electricity sector, which is worded as follows:

" The period of transition to the competition referred to in the first subparagraph shall not prevent the granting by the competent authority of authorisations of electrical energy production facilities provided for in the Article 21 of this Law. "

Eighteenth. Nuclear Security Council.

Article 6 of the Law on the Creation of the Nuclear Security Council is amended as follows:

" The charges of President, Councillors and Secretary-General of the Nuclear Security Council are incompatible with any other office or function, whether or not paid, perceiving exclusively, for the entire duration of his or her term of office or (a) the remuneration to be paid to the attention to the importance of its function. When he ceases to be in office and for the following two years, he will not be able to engage in any professional activity related to nuclear safety and radiation protection. The economic compensation to be collected under this limitation shall be determined in accordance with this limitation. '

Nineteenth. Step easements.

The serfdom constituted in favour of the basic transport network, transport networks and gas distribution networks, includes those lines and telecommunications equipment that can pass through them, whether they are for the own service of the gas holding, as for the public telecommunications service and, without prejudice to the justiceprice which, if any, may correspond, to aggravate this easement.

Likewise, the existing authorizations referred to in Article 103.2 of this Law include those lines and telecommunications equipment that may be used by them, with the same objective scope and autonomy as result from the previous paragraph.

TRANSIENT PROVISIONS

First. Application of Law 21/1974 of 27 June.

The research permits and operating concessions granted under Law 21/1974 of 27 June on the legal regime of the investigation and exploitation of hydrocarbons, or earlier, will be governed by that Law, except for express expression of the headlines, of their desire to make use of the regulation that for these permits and concessions establishes the present Law.

Second. Applicable regulatory provisions.

By way of derogation from the provisions of the single derogation provision, as long as the provisions for the implementation of this Law are not dictated, they shall continue in force, in so far as they do not object to the provisions of this Law. applicable in matters which constitute their object.

Third. Technical instructions.

The Government, within the maximum period of one year, by means of Royal Decree, shall approve the complementary technical instructions referred to in the second paragraph of Article 43.2 of this Law, and in the meantime they shall apply to any natural or legal person carrying out the activities provided for in that provision, the complementary technical instructions currently in force, depending on the type of activity concerned.

For these purposes, the future complementary technical instructions will be referred to respectively two different scenarios, on one side those facilities without supply to vehicles and on the other hand, those facilities in supplies to vehicles, without prejudice to the fact that in each of these cases the different types of installation according to the various technical elements are treated in a differentiated manner according to objective criteria; concurrent in each case. However, during this transitional period, the complementary technical instruction MI-IP 03, "Oil installations for own use", approved by Royal Decree 1427/1997 of 15 September, will apply to the associative base entities. (a) the Commission shall, in accordance with the conditions laid down in Article 3 (2) of the Directive, be deemed to be in the same way as the Commission's own- its members affected by its public transport activity and in its facilities may refuel more than two vehicles simultaneously.

Fourth. Prices of liquefied petroleum gases packaged.

The government, through a formula that is determined to be regulated, will be able to establish the maximum sales prices for the public of liquefied petroleum gases, as well as the conditions of competition and competition in this sector. market is not considered sufficient. The maximum price will incorporate the cost of the home distribution.

Fifth. Qualified consumers.

1. For the purposes of Article 60, qualified consumers shall be considered to be consumers in whose facilities, located on the same site, consumption is adapted at any time to the following timetable:

Those whose consumption is equal to or greater than 20 million Nm³, at the entry into force of this Law.

Those whose consumption is equal to or greater than 15 million Nm³, on January 1, 2000.

Those whose consumption is equal to or greater than 5 million Nm³, on January 1, 2003.

Those whose consumption is equal to or greater than 3 million Nm³, on January 1, 2008.

2. As of 1 January 2013, all consumers, regardless of their level of consumption, will have the consideration of qualifications.

3. During the three-year period following the time when a consumer has acceded to the condition of a qualified person, that consumer may choose to continue to acquire the gas from the dealer at tariff or to purchase it from a marketer in the freely agreed conditions.

Sixth. Connection and security term.

For ten years from the entry into force of this Law, the tariffs, tolls and royalties regulated therein will include a connection term and system security, which will be satisfied by all gas consumers. (a) natural gas, which is intended to ensure a reasonable return to investments in basic and secondary transport facilities intended to provide adequate security for the natural gas system, which would have been the subject of grant prior to the entry into force of this rule.

Seventh. Separation of activities.

1. Companies which, at the entry into force of this Law, have been engaged in activities which, in accordance with Article 63, must be contachably separated, shall make such separation of accounts effective within a period of one year. from that entry into effect.

2. Companies which, at the entry into force of this Law, carry out incompatible activities within the gas sector, shall, in accordance with the provisions of Article 63, be separated from such activities within two years. from the entry into force of this Law.

3. Companies which engage in the marketing of combustible gases shall do so by means of companies which have as their sole social object in the sector such activity.

4. The contributions of assets affected by gas activities carried out in compliance with the requirement for separation of activities provided for in Article 63 of this Law shall apply to the system established for the contributions of branches. of activity in Chapter VIII of Title VIII of Law 43/1995 of 27 December of the Tax on Societies.

The tariffs of Notaries, Commercial and Property Registrars corresponding to the necessary acts of adaptation to the aforementioned requirement of separation of activities will be reduced to 10 per 100.

Eighth. Cases of authorizations and concessions in processing.

The records of authorizations and concessions relating to activities subject to regulation in Title IV and which are pending the entry into force of this Law shall be resolved in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

Ninth. Fees, tolls and fees.

In order to assess correctly the application of the new system of tolls, fees and charges, and to avoid possible distortions in the regulation of the right of access to third-party facilities, the provisions of Article 92.2 of this Law shall apply within a period of more than two years from the effective exercise of the right of access.

10th. National Electrical System Commission.

1. By way of derogation from the first paragraph, 1, of the 11th additional provision of this Law, the National Commission of the Electrical System shall continue in the performance of its duties until the end of the five-year period for which it is the members who, upon the entry into force of this Law, compose their Board of Directors have been appointed.

During this period of time, the position of member of the National Commission of the Electrical System and of the member of the National Energy Commission may be held simultaneously, provided that they have been chosen by the the procedure provided for in the second paragraph of Article 11 (4) of this Law, only by perceiving remuneration for one of them.

2. The transfer of the material and personal means of the National Commission of the Electrical System to the National Energy Commission will be established, guaranteeing, in any case, the maximum economy of resources.

11th. Members of the National Energy Commission.

Within three months of the entry into force of this Law, the President and the members of the National Energy Commission shall be appointed.

12th. Exclusive supply contracts.

The owners of the facilities for the supply of vehicles which, at the time of the entry into force of this transitional provision, have concluded an agreement for the exclusive supply of fuels and Fuel with a wholesale distributor shall be entitled, from that entry in force, to the adaptation of the contract clause to the selling arrangements, with due regard for its economic content, to which the corresponding effect will be negotiation, which may not, in any event, result in this cause, termination or termination of these contracts, or the interruption of the fulfilment of the supply obligation exclusively or of any other.

13th. Previous authorizations.

The authorisations granted prior to the entry into force of this provision pursuant to Articles 7 and 8 of Law 34/1992 of 22 December 1992 on the management of the oil sector shall be maintained. in force and shall have full effect without ratification.

Fourteenth.

The transformation referred to in Article 77.3 of this Law shall be authorised by the competent authority at any time, irrespective of whether the original authorisation is from a different administration.

15th. Distribution of natural gas.

On the natural gas distribution area of a concession which, in accordance with the sixth provision of this Law, would have been authorised, no new authorisations for the construction of a natural gas can be granted. distribution facilities for a period equivalent to the time of validity of the original concession with a maximum of 15 years from the date of entry into force of the Law, and in this period must comply with the undertakings authorised, public service for the development and extension of the networks, imposed by virtue of the concession; and except for saturation of the capacity of its facilities. This is without prejudice to the provisions of Article 78 of this Law.

REPEAL PROVISION

Unica. Regulatory repeal.

Without prejudice to the provisions of the second transitional provision, the entry into force of this Law shall be repealed:

(a) Law 21/1974 of 27 June on research and exploitation of hydrocarbons.

b) Law 10/1987 of 15 June of basic provisions for a coordinated development of actions in the field of gaseous fuels.

c) Law 34/1992, of 22 December, of management of the oil sector.

(d) Articles 25 to 29, inclusive, of Royal Decree-Law 7/1996, of 7 June.

e) Article 86.3 of Law 7/1985 of 2 April, and provisions in agreement with regard to the supply of gas.

(f) Articles 6, 7 and 8 of Law 54/1997 of 27 November of the electrical sector.

g) Any other legal or regulatory rule as soon as you object to the provisions of this Law.

FINAL PROVISIONS

First. Character of the Act.

1. This Law is of a basic nature, in accordance with the provisions of Article 149.1.13. and 25. of the Constitution.

2. The references to administrative procedures, which will be regulated by the competent authorities, are excluded from this basic character, in any case complying with the provisions of Law No 30/1992 of 26 November 1992 on the legal system of Public administrations and the Common Administrative Procedure.

3. The provisions of this Law concerning the arrangements for foreign trade in oil and petroleum products and for forced expropriation and easements are to be exercised in the exercise of the powers conferred on the State in Article 149.1.8. , 10th and 18th of the Constitution.

The provisions of Title II relating to the exploration, investigation and exploitation of hydrocarbons are of general application, as provided for in Article 149.1.13., 18. and 25. of the Constitution.

Second. Powers of development.

The Government, in the field of its competences, will approve by Royal Decree the rules for the development of this Law.

Third. Entry into force.

This Law shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the "Official Gazette of the State".

Therefore,

I command all Spaniards, individuals and authorities, to keep and keep this Law.

Madrid, 7 October 1998.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The President of the Government,

JOSÉ MARÍA AZNAR LÓPEZ