Petroleum Register

The Petroleum Register contains a record e.g. of documents that establish, amend, transfer, mortgage, acknowledge or cancel a right to a production licence or an ownership interest in such a licence, cf. Section 3-1 of the Regulations relating to the Petroleum Register.

The Petroleum Register provides an overview of all production licences, cf. Section 3-3 of the Act relating to petroleum activities – the Petroleum Act and licences for installation and operation of facilities for transportation or utilisation of petroleum (Section 4-3 of the Petroleum Act); in practice, that means special licences for installation and operation of facilities for transportation or utilisation of petroleum. Provisions concerning the Petroleum Register are included in the Petroleum Act, Chapter 6, "Registration and mortgaging", and in a separate regulation, (the Petroleum Register Regulations).

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate is the Registrar for the Petroleum Register, pursuant to Section 1-2 of the Petroleum Register Regulations

Pursuant to Section 2-3 of the Petroleum Register Regulations, licensees must send written notification to the Registrar in the event of specifically defined changes in production licences and licences pursuant to Section 4-3 of the Petroleum Act.

If the regulations do not clarify an issue, the The Norwegian Offshore Directorate’s basis will be regulations associated with the Property Rights Registration Act, with regulations and appurtenant practices.

All types of reporting shall

• be a complete set of documentation per production licence
• be in Norwegian or English; Norwegian translation may be required (applies to all documentation)
• be sent together by post to The Norwegian Offshore Directorate, marked “The Petroleum Register”.

Processing time

Section 4-2 of the Petroleum Register Regulations stipulates that documents received by the The Norwegian Offshore Directorate by 12:00 hours must be registered on the same day. Documents submitted after 12:00 hours will be registered on the next business day. The registration time determines the document’s priority, and is a parallel to journal entry pursuant to the Property Rights Registration Act.

Entry in the Petroleum Register will be done within the framework of Section 7 (3) of the Property Rights Registration Act, which states that the document shall ultimately be registered in the relevant register (here the Petroleum Register) within two weeks after the first registration (journal entry date). In this connection, it will be verified (checked) that the criteria for registration are present. The case processing time in the The Norwegian Offshore Directorate will normally be three to six business days. In exceptional cases, other deadlines can be agreed with the Petroleum Register.

Checklists for correct reporting

If the Registrar finds that the document obviously cannot be registered, it shall be returned to the requisitioner, without registration. Below is an overview of amendments to production licences that are subject to registration and the documentation required to register the change, cf. also Section 2-3 of the Petroleum Register Regulations.

Take particular note of the information under authorised signature (ref. transfers and mortgages).

Change of operator

• Report of change enclosed with approval letter from the Ministry of Energy

Change of company name

• Report of change enclosed with certified certificate of registration showing the new name

Extension of licence

• Report of change enclosed with approval letter from the Ministry of Energy

Surrender/withdrawal/lapse of licence

• Report of change enclosed with consent from the Ministry of Energy

Mortgaging

• Consent to mortgage from the Ministry of Energy
• Receipt for fee paid (NOK 12 230 per production licence, paid to account number 7694.05.00326)
• Certified certificate of registration for mortgagor
• Original mortgage bond
• Certified copy of mortgage bond

Reduction of mortgage

• Cover letter
• Original mortgage bond (with endorsement of reduction)
• Certified copy of mortgage bond
• Certified certificate of registration - bank

Cancellation of mortgage

• Consent from mortgagee – bank
• Original mortgage bond

Transport of mortgage bond

• Transport of original document with certified copy
• Consent to transport of mortgage from the Ministry of Energy
• Certified certificate of registration from the party transferring the mortgage

Transfer

• Letter of consent from the Ministry of Energy
• Account from the company to the Ministry of Finance (FIN), if no separate decision is sent from FIN
• Certified certificate of registration from seller
• Original deed
• Certified copy of deed

The report to the The Norwegian Offshore Directorate must be signed by a person authorised to sign for the company, or in accordance with a proxy signed by a person authorised to signed for the company.

As regards deeds and/or mortgage bonds, the person or persons who sign the deed/mortgage bond must be authorised to sign for the company, and this signature right must be stated on the certificate of registration. Furthermore, the signature(s) must be verified in accordance with Section 17 of the Property Rights Registration Act, cf. Section 3 of the Property Rights Registration Regulations (see below).

Section 4 of the Petroleum Register Regulations governs the process for recording information in the Petroleum Register, and what documentation the licensee must submit. In addition to what is included here, the rules in Chapters 2 and 3 of the Property Rights Registration Act shall apply insofar as they are appropriate, here Section 17 relating to confirmation of signatures.

“Section 17: If a deed or mortgage document that is not issued by a public authority is to be noted in the register of deeds, the signature must be verified as being in accordance with regulations laid down by the Ministry. It must be expressly confirmed that the signature has been affixed or acknowledged in the presence of the person in question, and a declaration must be provided indicating that the issuer is over 18 years of age."
 See also Section 3 of Regulation No. 874 relating to Property Rights Registration of 3 November 1995, Signature confirmation

Reporting

To ensure that the information is up-to-date, the The Norwegian Offshore Directorate relies on changes, errors and defects being reported. If obvious errors are discovered in the register, licensees are encouraged to contact the NPD as soon as possible.

Access/transcripts

The FactPages are updated with information from the Petroleum Register on a daily basis. You can easily find the information you are looking for, and you can freely export the information to a printable PDF-file.

You can also order a certified transcript with a stamp from the The Norwegian Offshore Directorate. Orders should be submitted to postboks@sodir.no
NOK 407,67 per transcript, paid to account number 7694.05.00326.

Go directly to the overviews production licences, transport permits or to the front page of the FactPages.