Textual Amendments
F1Pt. 8ZA inserted (retrospective to 1.4.2014) by Finance Act 2014 (c. 26), Sch. 16 paras. 4, 6
(1)The definitions in this section have effect for the purposes of this Part.
(2)“Oil contractor activities” means activities carried on by a company (“the contractor”), which are not oil-related activities (within the meaning of section 274), but are—
(a)exploration or exploitation activities in, or in connection with, which the contractor provides, operates or uses a relevant asset (see section 356LA) in a relevant offshore service, or
(b)otherwise carried on in, or in connection with, the provision by the contractor of a relevant offshore service.
(3)The contractor provides a “relevant offshore service” if the contractor provides, operates or uses a relevant asset in, or in connection with, the carrying on of exploration or exploitation activities in a relevant offshore area by the contractor or any other associated person.
(4)“Exploration or exploitation activities” means activities carried on in connection with the exploration or exploitation of the seabed and subsoil and their natural resources.
(5)“Relevant offshore area” means—
(a)the territorial sea of the United Kingdom;
(b)the areas designated by Order in Council under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964.
(1)In this Part “relevant asset” means an asset within subsection (2) in respect of which conditions A and B are met.
(2)An asset is within this subsection if it is a structure that—
(a)can be moved from place to place (whether or not under its own power) without major dismantling or modification, and
(b)can be used to—
(i)drill for the purposes of searching for, or extracting, oil, or
(ii)provide accommodation for individuals who work on or from another structure used in a relevant offshore area for, or in connection with, exploration or exploitation activities (“offshore workers”).
(3)But an asset is not within subsection (2)(b)(ii) if it is reasonable to suppose that its use to provide accommodation for offshore workers is unlikely to be more than incidental to another use, or other uses, to which the asset is likely to be put.
(4)In subsection (2)—
“oil” means any substance capable of being won under the authority of a licence granted under Part 1 of the Petroleum Act 1998 or the Petroleum (Production) Act (Northern Ireland) 1964;
“structure” includes a ship or other vessel.
(5)Condition A is that the asset, or any part of the asset, is leased (whether by the contractor or not) from an associated person other than the contractor.
(6)Condition B is that the asset is of the requisite value.
(7)The asset is of the “requisite value” if its market value is £2,000,000 or more.
(8)The Treasury may by regulations modify the meaning of “requisite value”.
(9)Regulations under subsection (8) may—
(a)amend this section,
(b)make different provision for different cases or different purposes, and
(c)make incidental, consequential, supplementary or transitional provision or savings.
(1)For the purposes of this Part each of the following is an “associated person”—
(a)the contractor,
(b)any person who is, or has been, connected with the contractor,
(c)any person who has acted, acts or is to act, together with the contractor to provide a service, and
(d)any person who is connected with a person falling within paragraph (b) or (c).
(2)A person does not act together with the contractor to provide a service by reason only of leasing an asset, to any person, which is provided, operated or used in the service.
In this Part “lease” has the meaning given by section 868 and “leased” and “leasing” are to be construed accordingly.
In this Part the “contractor's ring fence profits”, in relation to an accounting period, means the contractor's income arising from oil contractor activities for that period.]