Petroleum (Production) Act 1918
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
|short_title=Petroleum (Production) Act 1918|type=Public General Act
|parliament=Parliament of the United Kingdom
|long_title=An Act to make provision with respect to the searching and boring for and getting Petroleum, and for purposes connected therewith.
|year=1918
|citation=8 & 9 Geo. 5. c. 52
|introduced_commons=
|introduced_lords=
|territorial_extent=United Kingdom
|royal_assent=21 November 1918
|repealing_legislation=Petroleum (Production) Act 1934
|status=Repealed
}}
The Petroleum (Production) Act 1918 (8 & 9 Geo. 5. c. 52) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which regulates the exploration and production of petroleum from underground strata.
Background
In the early the twentieth century, Britain imported most of its petroleum from the Middle East and America.{{Cite web|last=Craig|first=Jonathan, Francesco Gerali, Fiona MacAulay and Rasoul Sorkhabi|title=The history of the European oil and gas industry (1600s–2000s)|url=https://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/465/1/1.1#abstract-1|access-date=27 November 2020|website=lyell collection}} The First World War reduced access to some of these sources and increased the demand and use of petroleum. The government wanted to develop indigenous (UK) sources of petroleum but wished to avoid ‘wildcat’ development which had taken place in the USA. Legislation was therefore required to control the petroleum industry. The regulatory regime allowed only agents of the Crown or those licensed by the Crown to search for, or produce, petroleum.{{Cite book|last=More|first=Charles|title=Black Gold: Britain and oil in the twentieth century|publisher=continuum|year=2009|isbn=9781847250438|location=London|pages=62–63}}
Petroleum (Production) Act 1918
The Petroleum (Production) Act 1918 received royal assent on 21 November 1918. Its long title is 'An Act to make provision with respect to the searching and boring for and getting Petroleum, and for purposes connected therewith'.
= Provisions =
The Act comprises seven sectionsPetroleum (Production) Act 1918
- Section 1 – Prohibition on persons other than the Crown getting etc. petroleum
- Section 2 – Powers of Minister of Munitions
- Section 3 – Powers to inspect plans of mines
- Section 4 – Records of petroleum gotten
- Section 5 – Interpretation
- Section 6 – Savings
- Section 7 – Short Title
Consequences
Between the enactment of the 1918 act and 1934 only seven licences were issued and by 1934 only three were in force.{{Cite news|date=20 April 1934|title=Oil in Britain|page=7|work=The Times}}
The 1918 act was repealed by the Petroleum (Production) Act 1934 (24 & 25 Geo. 5. c. 36) which vested in the Crown the property in petroleum and natural gas within Great Britain.Petroleum (Production) Act 1934