Petroleum Authority of Brunei Darussalam Act · 2021 Revised Edition · Part · General
47. Power to require information or documents
Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
The Authority may, by notice in writing, for the purpose of exercising any of its powers or performing its functions or discharging its duties, require -
Authority
"Authority" means the Petroleum Authority of Brunei Darussalam established by section 3;
any person who is a party to a petroleum mining Agreement
(other than the Authority);
any person who has an ownership interest (direct or indirect)
in a person mentioned in paragraph (a); or
any director, officer or employee of any of the persons mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b), to furnish the Authority, at such times and in such form and manner, any petroleum data, or such other information or documents. as the Authority may require and. to attend personally before the Authority and produce for examination any such petroleum data, or other information or documents, which the Authority may consider necessary.
For the purposes of this section, an ownership interest is direct if it is held directly by a person in another person, and an ownership interest is indirect if it is held through a direct or an indirect ownership interest in a person that, itself, has a direct or an indirect ownership interest in another person.
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In this section -
"document" includes, in addition to a document in writing -
any map. plan. graph or drawing;
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any photograph;
any label, marking or other writing, which identifies or describes anything of which it forms a part. or to which it is attached by any means;
any disc, tape, sound-track or other device in which sounds or other data (not being visual images) are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other equipment) of being reproduced therefrom;
any film (including microfilm). negative, tape, disc or other device in which one or more visual images are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other equipment) of being reproduced therefrom; and fl any paper or other material on which there are marks, impressions, figures, letters, symbols or perforations having a meaning for persons qualified to interpret them;
..writing'? includes any mode of representing or reproducing words, figures, drawings or symbols in a visible form.
Any officer or other employee of the Authority authorised by the
Authority in that behalf -
shall at all times have full and free access to all buildings, places, documents, computers, computer programmes and computer software (whether installed in a computer or otherwise) for any of the purposes of this Act;
shall have access to any information, code or technology which has the capability of retransforming or unscrambling encrypted data contained or available to such computers into readable and comprehensive format or text for any of the purposes of this Act;
shall be entitled -
without fee or reward. to inspect, copy or make extracts from any such document.
computer, computer programmes, computer software or computer output;
and
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of Brunei Darussalunt
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at any reasoilable time to inspect and check the operation of any computer, device, apparatus or material which is or has been in use in connection with anything to which this section applies;
may take possession of any such document, computer.
device, apparatus. material, computer programmer or computer software where in the opinion of the Authority -
the inspection, checking. copying thereof or extraction therefrom cannot reasonably be performed without taking possession;
any such items may be interfered with or destroyed unless possession is taken; or
any such items may be required as evidence in proceedings for an offence under this Act;
shall be entitled to require -
the person by whom or on whose behalf the computer is or has been used, or any person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of the computer, device, apparatus or material to provide the officer or other employee with such reasonable assistance as the Authority may require for the purposes of this section; and
any person in possession of decryption information to grant the officer or other employee access to such decryption information necessary to decrypt data required for the purpose of this section; and
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shall be entitled to require a person in or at the building or place and who appears to the Authority or such officer or other employee to be acquainted with any fact or circumstance concerning the person's income, assets or liabilities -
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knowledge. information and belief: or
to take reasonable steps to produce a document for inspection.
Petroleum Authoritv of Brunei ~arussal6m
A person is not excused from furnishing information or •
documents or answering a query when required to do so under this section, including pursuant to a notice under this section. on the ground that -
the information or document or the answer might tend to incriminate him or expose him to liability or penalty; or
he is under any duty of secrecy in respect of that information or document.
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Where any information or document is hrnished pursuant to a requirement under this section, the Authority may make copies of or take extracts from the information or document.
Any person who. in purported compliance with any requirement in a notice under this section, knowingly or recklessly makes a statement or furnishes any information or document that is false or misleading in a material particular is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction to the penalty provided for under subsection (1 0).
Where the Authority issues a notice to any person under this section and states that the notice or requirement must be kept confidential, the person (including any director, officer or employee of such person) shall not disclose any information relating to the notice or requirement to any other person.
Any person who contravenes subsection (8) is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to the penalty provided for under subsection (10).
(1 0) A person who -
refuses, fails or neglects to comply with any notice of the
Authority under this section; or
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hinders or obstructs the Authority, or any officer or employee of the Authority. in the performance of its function or the discharge of his duties or anything which the Authority or such officer or employee of the Authority is empowered or required to do under this section, is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of not exceeding
$20,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or both and, in the case of a subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $50.000, a imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both.
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Terms defined in s 2
Authority
Defined · s 2"Authority" means the Petroleum Authority of Brunei Darussalam established by section 3;
liabilities
Defined · s 2"liabilities" includes debts, duties and obligations of every description wEresoever arising (whetherpresent or TutuEand-actual or contingent);
petroleum
Defined · s 2"petroleum" has the same meaning assigned to it in section 2 of the Petroleum Mining Act;
petroleum data
Defined · s 2"petroleum data" includes - (a) raw and processed seismic data and interpretations thereof; (b) well data, including daily drilling reports. electric logs and other wireline surveys. mud logging reports and logs. samples of cuttings and cores and analyses thereof; (c) all reports prepared from drilling data or geological or geophysical data, including completed maps or illustrations derived therefrom; reports of all other investigations based on data relating to any designated area under any petroleum mining Agreement; (k) with respect to any petroleum mining Agreement, any information or document relating to or describing - (i) the performance of all pre-exploration, exploration. appraisal, development or other works carried out by any person in connection with searching for, boring for or obtaining petroleum under or in coi-u~ectioi~ with the petroleum mining Agreement. including training of personnel and local business development: (ii) any wells drilled, the depth of each such wells, and any map on which drilling locations are indicated in respect of any designated area under the petroleum mining Agreement; (iii) any estimated quantity of petroleum, fresh water layers or significant quantities of other minerals encountered during petroleum operations under the petroleum mining Agreement; (iv) the number and details of employees or consultants engaged in petroleum operations under the petroleum mining Agreement; (v) any geological, geophysical, petrophysical and teclmical data, infrastructure construction, design and engineering materials and data, 1 1 1 1 s r e l a r l n g 1 io a v designated area under the petroleum mining Agreement, including well log, production and completion report, status report, sample, core, test result, map, plan and account; Petroleum Authority 14 o f Brunei Darussalam (vi) any estimate of petroleum reserves remaining to be recovered and the underlying analysis related thereto; (vii) any estimate of petroleum production and exports; (viii) details of goods and services sourced from persons in Brunei Darussalam relating to any petroleum operations in respect of any designated area under the petroleum mining Agreement; or (ix) details of all purchases, transfers and disposals of any facility, land, building, installation and other assets together with equipment. machinery, tools, supplies, materials, consumables and any other goods of similar nature (excluding any petroleum and any by-products of petroleum operations) acquired (through purchase. lease or otherwise) and which are held exclusively for use in petroleum operations in respect of any designated area under the petroleum mining Agreement;
petroleum mining Agreement
Defined · s 2"petroleum mining Agreement" has the same meaning assigned to it in section 2 of the Petroleum Mining Act;