Gas Act 1986

62 Exclusion of certain agreements from Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976.U.K.

(1)The M1Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976 shall not apply, and that Act and the M2Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1956 shall be deemed never to have applied, to any agreement which—

(a)was made before 28th November 1985; and

(b)was an agreement containing provisions relating to, or to activities connected with, the supply at a relevant place or to the Corporation of gas won under the authority of a petroleum production licence.

(2)The said Act of 1976 shall not apply, and shall be deemed never to have applied, to any agreement which—

(a)is or was made on or after 28th November 1985;

[F1(b)is or was an agreement containing provisions relating to, or to activities connected with, the supply otherwise than under a licence granted under section 7A(1) above [F2or Article 8(1)(c) of the Gas (Northern Ireland) Order 1996]of gas won under the authority of a petroleum production licence;]

(c)satisfies such other conditions as may be specified in an order made by the Secretary of State.

[F3(2A)The said Act of 1976 shall not apply, and shall be deemed never to have applied, to any agreement which—

(a)is or was made on or after 2nd March 1995;

(b)is or was an agreement containing provisions relating to, or to activities connected with—

(i)the introduction of gas into;

(ii)the taking out of gas from; or

(iii)the use by gas shippers of,

a pipe-line system or storage facility operated by a public gas transporter; and

(c)is specified, or is of a description specified, in an order made by the Secretary of State and satisfies such conditions as may be so specified.

(2B)Before making an order under subsection (2) or (2A) above, the Secretary of State shall consult the Director and the Director General of Fair Trading.]

(3)The conditions specified in an order under subsection (2) [F4or (2A)]above may include—

(a)conditions which are to be satisfied in relation to a time before the coming into force of this section;

(b)conditions which refer any matter (which may be the general question whether the said Act of 1976 should apply to a particular agreement) to the Secretary of State [F5, the Director or the Director General of Fair Trading] for determination after such consultation as may be so specified.

(4)Any modification on or after 28th November 1985 of any agreement made before that date shall—

(a)if it relates exclusively to the identities of the parties to the agreement, be treated for the purposes of this section and the said Act of 1976 as a modification before that date; and

(b)in any other case, be treated for those purposes in relation to the original agreement as a separate agreement;

and, accordingly, in neither case shall the modification be capable of having the effect of requiring an agreement made before that date to be treated for those purposes as an agreement made on or after that date.

(5)For the purposes of this section, the following in particular, that is to say, exploration for gas and the production, transport and treatment of gas shall be regarded as activities connected with the supply of gas.

(6)In this section—

• “gas ” means substance which is or (if it were in a gaseous state) would be gas within the meaning of Part I of this Act;

• [F6 “gas shipper ” and “public gas transporter ” have the same meanings as in Part I of this Act;]

• “petroleum production licence ” means a licence granted under the M3Petroleum (Production) Act 1934 or the M4Petroleum (Production) Act (Northern Ireland) 1964 or any corresponding licence granted under the law of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom;

• “relevant place ”, in relation to any gas won under the authority of a petroleum production licence, means—

(a)in the case of gas won at a place in the United Kingdom, that place or any place within one mile from that place;

(b)in the case of gas won at a place outside the United Kingdom and landed at a place in the United Kingdom, any place outside the United Kingdom, the place of landing or any place within one mile from the place of landing;

and expressions which are also used in the said Act of 1976 have the same meanings as in that Act.

F7(7). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .