REPUBLIC ACT NO. 4442 - AN ACT TO
AMEND SECTION EIGHTEEN OF REPUBLIC ACT NUMBERED THIRTY HUNDRED
NINETY-EIGHT
Section 1. Section eighteen of Republic Act Numbered Thirty
hundred and ninety-eight is amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 18. Reduction and/or moratorium on exploration
work obligations and annual exploration taxes. — Notwithstanding the
provisions of Article forty-seven of the Petroleum Act of 1949, the
minimum amount of work obligations therein required to be spent by a
petroleum exploration concessionaire in his concession is hereby
reduced by fifty per centum for two consecutive concession years
starting with the current concession year when this Act takes effect:
provided, that when circumstances warrant, the Secretary of Agriculture
and Natural Resources, upon recommendation by the Director of Mines,
may extend this period of two years for another period of two years:
provided, further, that upon previous approval by the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, as recommended by the Director of
Mines, said reduced amount of work obligation required to be spent for
any of the said two concession years may be spent in either of said two
concession years.
"The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, upon
recommendation of the Director of Mines, may give holders of petroleum
exploration concession where the provisions of the Petroleum Act, the
regulation and the terms and conditions of the concession contract have
been complied with for two or more concession years and where the
progress of exploration is such that exploration drilling is the next
logical step in the operation in accordance with good petroleum field
practice, as indicated by technical reports duly submitted to the
Director of Mines showing that adequate geological field work was
performed and delineating at least a favorable structure with favorable
lithology and with satisfactory paleontological correlations of surface
and possibly subsurface rock units, and/or when exploratory drilling is
shown to be necessary by satisfactory geophysical survey, a moratorium
on work obligations for a period of three concession years from the
date of the approval of this Act, extendable for another three years
upon recommendation of the Director of Mines: provided, however, that
those whom the Bureau of Mines will not certify as having faithfully
performed their exploration work with reasonable diligence and at
reasonable expense shall be disqualified under this amendatory Act. The
term "exploratory drilling" shall mean the drilling of wells suitable
to the production of petroleum and does not include diamond drilling
suitable only for stratigraphic information."
Sec. 2. This Act shall take effect upon its
approval.
Approved: June 19, 1965
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