(1)In the Corporation Tax Acts “oil and gas exploration and appraisal” means activities carried out for the purpose of—
(a)searching for petroleum anywhere in an area,
(b)ascertaining a petroleum-bearing area's extent or characteristics, or
(c)ascertaining its reserves of petroleum,
so that it may be determined whether the petroleum is suitable for commercial exploitation.
(2)In this section “petroleum” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Petroleum Act 1998.