Relinquishment of Blocks. 3.1. On or before the end of the third contract year as from the effective date, the contract operator shall relinquish twenty-five
Relinquishment of Blocks. 3.1. On or before the end of the third contract year as from the effective date, the contract operator shall relinquish twenty-five (25) per cent of the blocks in the original contract area.
3.2. On or before the end of the sixth contract year the contract operator shall relinquish an additional twenty-five (25) per cent of the blocks in the original total contract area.
3.3. Subject to the provisions of Section 2 of this contract, on or before the end of the tenth contract year, the contract operator shall relinquish all of the blocks in the contract area not contained in discovery areas.
3.4. The contract operator's obligation to relinquish parts of the contract area under the preceding provisions shall not apply to any blocks in the contract area declared as a discovery area. In this respect, in calculating the percentages under subsections 1 and 2 of this Section, blocks in discovery areas shall be excluded from the original contract area.
3.5. Upon thirty (30) days written notice to the Joint Authority prior to the end of any contract year, the contract operator shall have the right to surrender some, but not all, of the blocks in the contract area, provided the conditions of the contract have been met to the satisfaction of the Joint Authority and such blocks shall then be credited against the blocks in the contract area which the contract operator is next required to relinquish under the provisions of subsections 1, 2 and 3 of this Section.
3.6. The contract operator shall advise the Joint Authority in advance of the date of relinquishment of the blocks to be relinquished. For the purpose of relinquishments, the contract operator and the Joint Authority shall consult with each other regarding which blocks are to be relinquished. So far as is reasonable, such blocks shall form an area of sufficient size and convenient shape to enable petroleum operations to be conducted thereon.
3.7. For the purposes of calculating the number of blocks to be relinquished under subsections 1 and 2 of this Section, where the number of blocks is not exactly divisible by four (4), only the whole number of blocks after the division by four (4) shall be relinquished.
Relinquishment of Blocks
