Petroleum Act 1998

21 Enforcement

(1) Any person who—

(a) contravenes any provision of section 14(1); or

(b) contravenes any provision of a notice under section 16 or 17 served on him in his capacity as the owner of the pipeline to which the notice relates in a case where no authorisation for the use of the pipeline is required by section 14(1); or

(c) makes a statement which he knows is false in a material particular, or recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular, for the purpose of inducing the Secretary of State—

(i) to issue any authorisation; or

(ii) to agree under section 18(1)(b) that an authorisation is to cease to be in force; or

(iii) to specify a period under section 18(3)(b); or

(iv) not to serve a notice under section 18(6),

shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or on conviction on indictment to a fine.

(2) If a person executes any works in contravention of section 14(1) the Secretary of State may at any time serve on him a notice requiring him to remove such of the works as are specified in the notice as works to be removed.

(3) The recipient of a notice under subsection (2) shall comply with the notice within the period specified in the notice; and if he fails to do so the Secretary of State may comply with the notice on his behalf and recover from him any expenses reasonably incurred in doing so.

(4) If a person executes any works in contravention of section 14(1) and the Secretary of State considers that it is urgently necessary to do such things in relation to the works as he could have required that person to do by a notice under subsection (2), the Secretary of State may do those things and recover from that person any expenses reasonably incurred in doing so.

(5) The fact that any thing is done or omitted—

(a) by the recipient of a notice under subsection (2) for the purpose of complying with the notice; or

(b) by the Secretary of State under subsection (3) or (4),

shall not relieve him from liability for any damage which is attributable to the act or omission and for which he would have been liable had the act or omission not been authorised by this section; but the Secretary of State shall be entitled to recover from the person who executed the works in question the amount of any damages which, in consequence of the works, are paid by the Secretary of State by virtue of this subsection.