| Act of Parliament | |
.svg) | |
| Long title | An Act to make provision with respect to the searching and boring for and getting Petroleum, and for purposes connected therewith. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 8 & 9 Geo. 5. c. 52 |
| Territorial extent | United Kingdom |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 21 November 1918 |
| Commencement | 21 November 1918[b] |
| Repealed | 12 July 1934 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Petroleum (Production) Act 1934 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Petroleum (Production) Act 1918 (8 & 9 Geo. 5. c. 52) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which regulates the exploration and production of petroleum from underground strata.
Background
In the early the twentieth century, Britain imported most of its petroleum from the Middle East and America.[1] The First World War reduced access to some of these sources and increased the demand and use of petroleum.[1] The government wanted to develop indigenous (UK) sources of petroleum but wished to avoid ‘wildcat’ development which had taken place in the USA. Legislation was therefore required to control the petroleum industry. The regulatory regime allowed only agents of the Crown or those licensed by the Crown to search for, or produce, petroleum.[2]
Provisions
The act received royal assent on 21 November 1918. Its long title is 'An Act to make provision with respect to the searching and boring for and getting Petroleum, and for purposes connected therewith'.
The act comprises seven sections[3]
- Section 1 – Prohibition on persons other than the Crown getting etc. petroleum
- Section 2 – Powers of Minister of Munitions
- Section 3 – Powers to inspect plans of mines
- Section 4 – Records of petroleum gotten
- Section 5 – Interpretation
- Section 6 – Savings
- Section 7 – Short Title
Subsequent developments
Between the enactment of the act and 1934 only seven licences were issued and by 1934 only three were in force.[4]
The whole act was repealed by section 11(2) of the Petroleum (Production) Act 1934 (24 & 25 Geo. 5. c. 36), which came into force on 12 July 1934. The act vested in the Crown the property in petroleum and natural gas within Great Britain[5]
See also
Notes
- Section 7.
- The Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793.
References
- Craig, Jonathan, Francesco Gerali, Fiona MacAulay and Rasoul Sorkhabi. "The history of the European oil and gas industry (1600s–2000s)". Lyell Collection. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - More, Charles (2009). Black Gold: Britain and oil in the twentieth century. London: continuum. pp. 62–63. ISBN 9781847250438.
- Petroleum (Production) Act 1918
- "Oil in Britain". The Times. 20 April 1934. p. 7.
- "Petroleum (Production) Act 1934", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, Geo5/24-25 c. 36
External links
- Text of the Petroleum (Production) Act 1918 as originally enacted or made within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.