Retention of carbon storage samples by licensees

4.—(1) A licensee must retain—

(a)any portion of a relevant sample which is not provided to the OGA in accordance with—

(i)an OGA notice, or

(ii)any requirement included in a storage permit in accordance with regulation 8 of, and Schedule 2 to, the CS Licensing Regulations 2010, and

(b)if a drill cuttings sample or fluid sample exceeded the maximum quantity when acquired, any portion of the maximum quantity of the sample which is not provided to the OGA in accordance with such a notice or such a requirement,

and each such portion is referred to in this regulation as a “licensee portion”.

(2) The licensee must retain a licensee portion until the end of the period of six months beginning with the day on which the licensee gives a disposal intention notice to the OGA in respect of that portion.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), where a licensee portion is of a solid sample, the licensee may not give the OGA a disposal intention notice in respect of that portion more than six months before the later of—

(a)the last day of the post-completion period (“the post completion day”) for the relevant well, and

(b)the last day of the post-closure period (“the post closure day”) for the well.

(4) Where the post closure day for a relevant well is later than the post completion day for that well, the licensee may, with the consent of the OGA, give the OGA a disposal intention notice on an early notification date in respect of a licensee portion of a solid sample acquired from that well.

(5) For the purposes of paragraph (4), an early notification date is a day which is—

(a)before the post closure day for the relevant well, but

(b)at least six months after the post completion day for the well.

(6) For the purposes of this regulation—

(a)a “relevant sample” is a carbon storage sample acquired by, or on behalf of, a licensee—

(i)during the drilling of a well, or

(ii)in the course of carrying out activities for one or more of the purposes specified in paragraph 2(3) of Schedule 2 to the CS Licensing Regulations 2010;

(b)a “drill cuttings sample” is a relevant sample which is of fragments of strata acquired during the drilling of a well;

(c)a “fluid sample” is a relevant sample which is of a fluid;

(d)the “maximum quantity”—

(i)for a drill cutting sample, is 100 grammes;

(ii)for a fluid sample, is one litre;

(e)a “solid sample” is a relevant sample other than a fluid sample;

(f)“disposal intention notice” means a notice of a licensee’s intention to dispose of a licensee portion;

(g)“relevant well” means the well from which a relevant sample is acquired;

(h)“the post-completion period” for a relevant well is the period of 10 years beginning with the day on which all work necessary to bring the well into operation is completed;

(i)“the post-closure period” for a relevant well is the period—

(i)beginning with the day on which the storage site in which the well is situated closes, and

(ii)ending at the end of the day on which the carbon storage licence for that site terminates.