Malawi
Liquid Fuels and Gas (Production and Supply) Act
Chapter 50:03
- Commenced on 28 December 2007
- [This is the version of this document at 31 December 2014.]
- [Note: This version of the Act was revised and consolidated in the Fifth Revised Edition of the Laws of Malawi (L.R.O. 1/2018), by the Solicitor General and Secretary for Justice under the authority of the Revision of the Laws Act.]
Part I – Preliminary
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Liquid Fuels and Gas (Production and Supply) Act.2. Application
3. Act not to apply to exploration of oil and gas
The activities and installations related to the prospecting, exploration, discovery and development of oil and gas within Malawi as well as the storage, transportation and transformation of such oil and gas within the limits of the development area shall be governed by the Petroleum Exploration Act.[Cap. 61:01]4. Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—“Authority” means the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority established under section 3 of the Energy Regulation Act;[Cap. 73:02]“chain of supply” means all operations, activities, installation equipment and other facilities, directly or indirectly, related to liquid fuels and gas supply operations;“commercial storage” means liquid fuels and gas storage held by a licensee for his day to day commercial operations;“consumer” has the meaning assigned thereto in the Consumer Protection Act;[Cap. 48:10]“Energy Laws” has the meaning ascribed thereto in the Energy Regulations Act;[Cap. 73:02]“exploration area” has the meaning assigned thereto in the Petroleum Exploration Act;[Cap. 61:01]“franchising” means an agreement between a licensee and a retail dealer under which the retail dealer is permitted to retail liquid fuels and gas under a designated business name;“importation” means buying liquid fuels and gas from a source outside Malawi by a licensee;“international haulage” means transportation of liquid fuels and gas into Malawi delivered at designated storage facilities of a licensee holding a storage licence;“internal distribution” means transportation of liquid fuel and gas within Malawi from storage facilities to wholesale and retail outlets;“licence” means a licence issued by the Authority under this Act;“licensee” means the holder of a licence under this Act;“liquid fuels and gas” means organic compounds, pure or blended, which are derived from the refining or processing of crude oils or mixes of crude oils, or refined from plant organic materials including—(a)asphalts, bitumens, coke and other residual products;(b)bunkers or heavy residual fuel oils for combustion engines or industrial heat processes such as burners for boilers or heating furnaces;(c)commercial gases such as methane, ethane, propane, butane, LPG and other similar gases or mixture of these gases whether in gaseous or liquefied state;(d)gasoil or automotive industrial or marine diesel;(e)gasolines (petrol) or naphtha products;(f)kerosene or other similar oils for illumination or combustion applications;(g)lubricating oils such as base oils and refined and blended finished oils;(h)turbo fuels forjet propulsion engines;(i)fuel ethanol; and(j)other products or by-products of crude oil processing having a Flash Point lower than 120 degrees Celsius, as determined in a Pensky-Martens closed test apparatus;“liquid fuels and gas supply undertaking operation” means any operation or installation and activities for or in connexion with the import, landing, loading, transformation, transport, storage, distribution, wholesale, retail or franchising of liquid fuels and gas products which are owned and operated by a licensee;“production area” means the area constituted by a block that is, or by blocks that are, subject to a liquid fuel and gas productions licence;“retailing” means selling of liquid fuels and gas on retail terms by a holder of a retail licence;“strategic fuel reserve storage” means liquid fuels storage held by Government for strategic purposes;“transportation” means the international haulage and local distribution of liquid fuels and gas by a licensee; and“wholesaling” means selling of liquid fuels and gas on wholesale terms by a holder of a wholesale licence.Part II – General principles
5. Objectives
The objectives of this Act are to—6. Activities in chain of supply open to any person
Part III – Functions of the Minister
7. Functions of the Minister
The Minister, or any person to whom the functions referred to in this section may have been delegated by notice published in the Gazette, shall—Part IV – Liquid fuels and gas production licence
8. Obligation to obtain a production licence
9. Production activities to be licensed
The following production activities shall be licensed by the Authority—10. Application for a production licence
11. Application fees and expenses
12. Approval of applications
13. Validity of production licences
A production licence issued under section 12 shall have a duration of one to five years depending on the type of the activity the licence covers and shall be renewable in accordance with conditions prescribed in regulations.14. Assignment of production licence
No production licence issued under section 12 may be assigned by or transferred from the holder to another person without the prior written approval of the Authority, unless otherwise provided for in regulations.15. Suspension, revocation or termination of production licence
Notwithstanding any other remedies or penalties for offences provided for under this Act or any other written law—Part V – Liquid fuels and gas construction and operating licences
16. Obligation to obtain a licence
17. Activities to be licensed
The following activities in the chain of supply shall be licensed by the Authority—18. Application for a licence
19. Application fees and expenses
20. Approval of applications
21. Validity of licences
A licence issued under section 20 shall have a duration of one to five years, depending on the type of the activity the licence covers, and shall be renewable in accordance with conditions prescribed in regulations.22. Assignment of licences
No licence issued under section 20 may be assigned by or transferred from the holder to another person without the prior written approval of the Authority, unless otherwise provided for in regulations.23. Suspension, revocation or termination of licences
Notwithstanding any other remedies or penalties for offences provided for under this Act or any other written law—Part VI – Obligations of the holders of licences
24. Compliance with laws, regulations, standards and specifications
All licensees and all persons working under the direction of, licensees, as well as the installations and equipment used by them, shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations, standards and technical specifications concerning the protection of occupational safety, health, welfare, public safety, public health and the environment and with all other applicable written laws.25. Inspection and information
26. Minister to establish minimum stock requirements
27. National Liquid Fuels and Gas Information System
28. Reports and information to be submitted
Every licensee shall submit to the Authority periodic reports and other information for the National Liquid Fuels and Gas Information System as prescribed by the Authority by regulations.29. Central Registry of Liquid Fuels and Gas Operations
Part VII – Assurance of fair competition
30. Prohibition against activities contrary to principles of fair competition
31. Negotiated access to unused capacities of third party facilities
Part VIII – Protection of occupational safety, health and welfare, public safety, public health and the environment
32. Adoption and adaptation of international standards and specifications
33. Environmental impact studies
Part IX – National Liquid Fuels and Gas Emergency Plan and the Strategic Fuel Reserve Storage
34. National Liquid Fuels and Gas Emergency Plan
35. Strategic Fuel Reserve Storage
The Government shall establish and manage a Strategic Fuel Reserve Storage.Part X – Product prices, taxes and levies
36. Approval of prices
37. Advisory committees
38. Levies
Part XI – Mediation and appeals
39. Mediation by the Authority
40. Appeal to the High Court
Any person who is aggrieved by any decision of the Authority may appeal to the High Court.Part XII – Offences and penalties
41. Offences
Any person commits an offence who—42. Penalties
Any person who commits an offence under this Act shall be liable upon conviction to a fine of K50,000,000 and to imprisonment for ten years.43. Joint liability
44. Initiation of actions by consumers
Any consumer of liquid fuels and gas products or any recognized consumer organization may initiate action against any licensee for offences under this Act, provided that such consumer or consumer organization has previously filed a complaint with the Authority and feels aggrieved by the acts or omissions of the Authority in response to such complaint.Part XIII – Miscellaneous provisions
45. Rehabilitation of area damaged by operations
46. Regulations
The Minister may, in consultation with the Authority, make such regulations as he may deem expedient to give force or effect to this Act or for its better administration.47. By-laws
The Authority may make by-laws to give effect to this Act or for its better administration and shall publish a draft of the proposed by-laws for comment by members of the public or licensees and shall consider any comments given before putting such by-laws into effect.48. Transitory regime for licences
49. Repeal and savings
History of this document
31 December 2014 this version
Consolidation
28 December 2007
Commenced
Subsidiary legislation
Title
|
Date
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Liquid Fuels and Gas (Production and Supply) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 | Government Notice 25 of 2020 | 26 June 2020 |
Liquid Fuels and Gas (Production and Supply) (Strategic Fuel Reserve Storage) Regulations, 2018 | Government Notice 40 of 2018 | 12 June 2018 |