PART II.

Petroleum.

Chapter I.

Interpretation (Part II).

2. —(1) In this Part—

“ancillary rights” has the meaning assigned to it by section 3 of this Act;

“the Board” means the Mining Board established by section 33 of the Minerals Development Act, 1940 (No. 31 of 1940);

“exploration licence” has the meaning assigned to it by section 8 of this Act;

“land” includes foreshore and land covered with water;

“the Land Commission” means the Irish Land Commission;

“land purchase annuity” means a land purchase annuity payable under the Land Purchase Acts to the Land Commission;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Industry and Commerce;

“the operative date” means the date of the passing of this Act;

“petroleum” includes any mineral oil or relative hydrocarbon and natural gas and other liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons and their derivatives or constituent substances existing in its natural condition in strata (including, without limitation, distillate, condensate, casinghead gasoline and such other substances as are ordinarily produced from oil and gas wells) and includes any other mineral substance contained in oil and natural gas brought to the surface with them in the normal process of extraction, but does not include coal and bituminous shales and other stratified deposits from which oil can be extracted by distillation;

“petroleum lease” has the meaning assigned to it by section 13 of this Act;

“petroleum prospecting licence” has the meaning assigned to it by section 9 of this Act;

“petroleum well” means a boring or other excavation in the earth's crust made for the purpose of extracting petroleum;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations;

“regulations” means regulations made by the Minister under this Part;

“rent” includes any periodical payment in the nature of rent;

“reserved area licence” has the meaning assigned to it by section 19 of this Act;

“royalty rent” means a rent calculated by reference to the quantity, price or value of petroleum gotten;

“State petroleum” means petroleum, the property in which was immediately before the operative date vested in the State;

“surface” when used in relation to land, includes any buildings, works, or thing erected, constructed or growing on such land;

“working” when used in relation to petroleum, includes digging, searching for, boring for, getting, raising, taking, carrying away, storing and treating petroleum, and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

“working facilities acquisition order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 23 of this Act;

“working facilities permit” has the meaning assigned to it by section 26 of this Act;

“working facilities (State land) permit” has the meaning assigned to it by section 27 of this Act.

(2) In this Part, references to the licensee under a licence granted under this Part shall, where the context so permits, be construed as including references to the executors, administrators and assigns of the licensee.

3. —The following rights shall be ancillary rights for the purposes of this Part, and, in this Part, the expression “ancillary rights” shall be construed accordingly, that is to say:—

(a) a right to let down the surface, including a right to let down superincumbent or adjacent strata up to and including the surface;

(b) a right of air-way, shaft-way, or surface or underground way-leave, or other right for the purpose of access to or conveyance of petroleum or machinery or the ventilation or drainage or working of petroleum wells;

(c) a right to do any of the following things—

(i) to construct, operate and maintain roads and railways for the purpose of ingress and egress to or from any land specified in a petroleum lease,

(ii) to build, maintain and operate on any such land such roads and railways as may be needed for the purpose of carrying on the exploration, prospecting, working, drilling and development of petroleum under such land, and for the purpose of access to any petroleum well, and the conveyance of petroleum from any petroleum well,

(iii) for all or any of the purposes aforesaid to use and occupy land and to exercise any rights in or over land or water;

(d) a right to lay pipe-lines, and to erect pumping and storage stations, loading racks, terminals and other facilities for the transport of petroleum;

(e) a right to use and occupy the surface of land for the excavation of reservoirs and settling ponds, laying of pipes, erection of facilities for pumping, storage, production of petroleum or manufacture of by products, or other works, or for dwellings for persons employed in connection with the working of petroleum or with any such works as aforesaid;

(f) a right to a supply of water or other substances in connection with the working of petroleum, including a right to dig or drill wells;

(g) a right to dispose in a particular manner of water or other liquid matter obtained from petroleum wells or any by-product works;

(h) a right to dispose in a particular manner of waste products obtained in connection with the working of petroleum;

(i) a right to dam or divert any river or watercourse, including an artificial watercourse;

(j) a right to divert sewers, watermains and pipes;

(k) a right to divert a public road, street or way, or a private way, and to substitute for any existing bridge another bridge on a different site;

(l) a right to divert a railway or a tramway;

(m) a right to demolish buildings which impede the proper working of petroleum.