Finance Act 2019

The “uplifted decommissioning costs estimate”

10 (1) A “decommissioning security agreement” is an agreement entered into for the purpose of—

(a) determining the costs of decommissioning an oil field, and

(b) providing security for—

(i) the performance of obligations under an abandonment programme for the purposes of section 38A of the Petroleum Act 1998 (whether or not such a programme has been approved at the time the agreement is entered into), or

(ii) the costs of decommissioning plant or machinery which is, or forms part of, a relevant onshore installation.

(2) A decommissioning security agreement is “qualifying” for the purposes of this Schedule if—

(a) the seller is a party to the agreement,

(b) at least one of the parties is not associated with the seller, and

(c) the estimate approved for the purposes of the agreement is a reasonable estimate of the decommissioning costs for the oil field.

(3) In a case where the corporate restructuring condition (see paragraph 56(2)) is met, sub-paragraph (2)(a) has effect as if the reference to the seller were a reference to a party to the third party election (as defined in that paragraph).

(4) In sub-paragraph (1)—

• “abandonment programme” has the meaning given by section 29 of the Petroleum Act 1998, and

• “relevant onshore installation” has the same meaning as in section 163 of CAA 2001 (see subsection (3C) of that section).

(5) See paragraph 98 of this Schedule and section 271 of CTA 2010 for further provision about the meaning of “associated companies”.