国务院第131号令
（Promulgated by Decree No. 131 of the State Council on， and effective as of， October 7， 1993）
时效性：已被修正　 颁布日期：19931007 　实施日期：19931007 　失效日期：20010923 　颁布单位：国务院

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 These Regulations are formulated in order to safeguard the development of the petroleum industry and to promote international economic cooperation and technical exchange.

Article 2 These Regulations must be observed in all activities involving Chinese-foreign cooperative exploitation of on-shore petroleum resources in the People's Republic of China.

Article 3 Ownership of the petroleum resources within the territory of the People's Republic of China shall vest in the State of the People's Republic of China.

Article 4 The Government of China protects according to law the cooperative exploitation activities， investments， profit and other lawful rights and interests of foreign enterprises participating in the cooperative exploitation of on-shore petroleum resources.

Activities in the People's Republic of China involving the cooperative exploitation of on-shore petroleum resources must comply with the relevant laws， rules and regulations of the People's Republic of China and shall be subject to supervision and control by the relevant authorities of the Chinese Government.

Article 5 The State Will not requisition the investment and gains of foreign enterprises participating in the cooperative exploitation of on-shore petroleum resources. In special circumstances， when the public interest requires， part or all of the petroleum due to the foreign enterprise in connection with cooperative exploitation may be requisitioned according to legal procedures. In case of such requisitioning， appropriate compensation shall be paid.

Article 6 A department or unit authorized by the State Council shall be responsible for demarcating cooperation blocks， determining the forms of cooperation， arranging for the formulation of relevant plans and policies， and examining and approving overall development programs for oil（gas） fields in cooperation with foreign enterprises， for the cooperation areas approved by the State Council.

Article 7 China National Petroleum and Natural Gas Corporation shall be responsible for business matters in respect of the exploitation of on-shore petroleum resources in cooperation with foreign enterprises， and for negotiating， entering into and implementing contracts for the cooperative exploitation of on-shore petroleum resources with foreign enterprises. China National Petroleum and Natural Gas Corporation shall have the exclusive right to engage in petroleum exploration， development and production in cooperation with foreign enterprises in areas approved by the State Council for exploitation of on-shore petroleum resources in cooperation with foreign enterprises.

Article 8 Following invitations to bid or negotiations， China National Petroleum and Natural Gas Corporation shall enter into contracts with foreign enterprises for the cooperative exploitation of on-shore petroleum resources in the cooperation blocks demarcated in the areas approved by the State Council for exploitation of on-shore petroleum resources in cooperation with foreign enterprises. Such contracts shall be formed only after they have been approved by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of the People's Republic of China.

In addition to the contracts referred in the preceding paragraph， China National Petroleum and Natural Gas Corporation may also enter into other cooperation contracts with foreign enterprises in respect of areas approved by the State Council for cooperative exploitation of on-shore petroleum resources. Such contracts must be submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of the People's Republic of China for the record.

Article 9 After a block has been declared open to foreign cooperation， China National Petroleum and Natural Gas Corporation may engage in cooperative exploitation of on-shore petroleum resources with foreign enterprise（s） and， other than that， no enterprise may enter such block to prospect for petroleum or may enter into an economic and technical cooperation agreement with foreign enterprise（s） for petroleum exploitation in such block.

Any enterprise that has entered and is prospecting for petroleum （in the area appraisal prospecting stage） in a block declared open to foreign cooperation prior to the time such declaration has been made shall withdraw from such block when China National Petroleum and Natural Gas Corporation and the foreign enterprise have entered into a contract. China National Petroleum and Natural Gas Corporation shall be responsible for selling the prospecting data obtained by such withdrawing enterprise， so as to compensate the enterprise for its investment in an appropriate manner. After an oil（gas） field with commercial exploitation value is discovered in such block， the enterprise that withdraws from the block may participate in development by investment.

A department or unit authorized by the State Council shall periodically adjust the blocks which have been determined as open blocks based on the circumstances of entry into and implementation of the contracts.

Article 10 In the exploitation of on-shore petroleum resources in cooperation with foreign enterprises， the principle of taking both central and local interests into consideration shall be observed. Appropriate consideration shall be given to local interests by methods such as attracting funds from the place where an oil（gas） field with commercial exploitation value is located for investment in the development of such field.

The relevant local People's Governments shall protect normal production and business activities carried out in cooperation areas according to law and shall render effective assistance in respect of land use， road access and living amenities， etc.

Article 11 In the cooperative exploitation of on-shore petroleum resources， taxes shall be paid according to law； in addition， royalties shall be paid.

Employees of enterprises engaged in the cooperative exploitation of on-shore petroleum resources shall pay tax on their income according to law.

Article 12 Duties and taxes on equipment and materials imported for the purpose of implementing contracts shall be reduced or exempted， or other preferential treatment shall be granted in respect of such duties and taxes， in accordance with relevant regulations of the State. The measures shall be formulated by the Ministry of Finance in conjunction with the General Administration of Customs.

Chapter II Rights and Obligations of Foreign Contractors

Article 13 To engage in cooperative exploitation of on-shore resources， China National Petroleum and Natural Gas Corporation and foreign enterprises must conclude contracts. Unless laws， regulations or the contract provide otherwise， the foreign enterprise entering into the contract （hereinafter referred to as “Foreign Contractor”） shall solely provide the investment to carry out exploration， be responsible for the exploration operations and bear all exploration risks. After the discovery of an oil（gas） field with commercial exploitation value， the Foreign Contractor and China National Petroleum and Natural Gas Corporation shall jointly invest in cooperative development. The Foreign Contractor shall undertake the development and production operations， until production operation are taken over by China National Petroleum and Natural Gas Corporation as stipulated in the contract.

Article 14 Foreign Contractors may， in accordance with the provisions of the contract， recover their investment and expenses， and obtain remuneration out of the petroleum produced.

Article 15 Foreign Contractors may transport the petroleum due to them and the petroleum purchased by them out of the country， and they may also remit the investment recovered by them， their profits and their other lawful gains out of the country， in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State and the provisions of the contracts.

If a Foreign Contractor sells the petroleum due to it within the territory of the People's Republic of China， such petroleum shall be purchased exclusively by China National Petroleum and Natural Gas Corporation.

Article 16 Foreign Contractors shall open accounts with banks within the territory of the People's Republic of China that have obtained approval to engage in foreign exchange business， and shall abide by State regulations on foreign exchange control.

Article 17 Foreign Contractors shall establish branches or representative offices within the territory of the People's Republic of China according to law.

Article 18 In implementing the contracts， Foreign Contractors shall employ advanced technology and management experience. In addition， they shall transfer technology and pass on experience to Chinese personnel and train such personnel.

In their petroleum operations， Foreign Contractors shall gradually increase the ratio of Chinese personnel employed.

Article 19 In the course of implementing the contracts， Foreign Contractors shall timely and accurately report on the petroleum operations to China National Petroleum Natural Gas Corporation， obtain complete and accurate data， records， samples， vouchers and other original information in respect of all petroleum operations， and submit information， samples and various reports in respect of technical， economic， financial， accounting and administrative aspects to China National Petroleum and Natural Gas Corporation in accordance with regulations.

Article 20 After a Foreign Contractor has been compensated for its investment in accordance with the contract or after the production period of oil（gas） field in question has expired， title to all assets purchased and manufactured by the Foreign Contractor according to the plan and the budget for implementation of the contracts， except for equipment leased from third parties， shall vest in China National Petroleum and Natural Gas Corporation. During the term of the contract， the Foreign Contractor may use such assets in accordance with the contract.

Chapter III Petroleum Operations

Article 21 The operators must formulate overall development programs for oil（gas） fields in accordance with the regulations of the State concerning the exploitation of petroleum resources， and shall carry out development and production operations after such programs have been approved by a department or unit authorized by the State Council.

Article 22 Given equal conditions in and outside China， the operators shall to the extent possible give preference to purchase in China of the machinery， equipment， raw materials， accessories， means of transportation and office articles required for the petroleum operations.

With respect to the personnel and subcontractors required for the petroleum operations， the operators shall give preference to the employment of Chinese citizens and subcontractors， as stipulated in the contracts.

Article 23 In carrying out petroleum operations， operators and subcontractors shall observe State laws， regulations and standards concerning environmental protection and operational safety， carry out their operations according to international practice， protect farmland， aquatic resources， forest reserves and other natural resources， and prevent pollution of and damage to the atmosphere， oceans， rivers， streams， lakes， groundwater and other land environments.

Article 24 The use of land in the course of petroleum operations shall be handled in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Land and other relevant regulations of the State.

Article 25 Title to all data， records， samples， vouchers and other original information in respect of all petroleum operations as referred to in Article 19 hereof shall vest in China National Petroleum and Natural Gas Corporation.

The use， assignment， donation， exchange， sale， publication， and transport or transmission out of the People's Republic of China， of data， records， samples， vouchers and other original information as mentioned in the preceding paragraph must be in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State.

Chapter IV Settlement of Disputes

Article 26 Any dispute between the parties to a contract for the cooperative exploitation of on-shore petroleum resources that arises from the implementation of the contract shall be resolved through consultations or mediation. If the parties are not willing to resolve the dispute through consultations or mediation， or if consultation or mediation is unsuccessful， the dispute may be submitted for arbitration by a Chinese arbitration institution or another arbitration institution in accordance with the arbitration clause in the contract or a written arbitration agreement entered into subsequently.

If the parties have neither included an arbitration clause in their contract nor reached a subsequent written arbitration agreement， proceedings may be instituted in a People's Court of China.

Chapter V Legal Liability

Article 27 Anyone that violates these Regulations in any of the following ways may be warned and ordered to rectify the situation within a prescribed time limit by a department or unit authorized by the State Council and， if the situation is not rectified within the prescribed time limit， be ordered to cease petroleum operations； if the violation constitutes a criminal offense， criminal liability shall be pursued according to law.

（1） acting in violation of the first paragraph of Article 9 hereof by entering without authorization a block opened to foreign cooperation to prospect for petroleum or by signing without authorization a cooperation agreement with a foreign enterprise for petroleum exploitation in a such block；

（2） acting in violation of Article 19 hereof by， in the course of implementing the contract， failing timely and accurately to report on the petroleum operations to China National Petroleum and Natural Gas Corporation or failing to submit information， samples and various reports in respect of technical， economic， financial， accounting and administrative aspects to China National Petroleum and Natural Gas Corporation in accordance with regulations；

（3） acting in violation of Article 21 hereof by carrying out development and production operations on one's own authority without having obtained approval for the overall development program for the oil（gas） field； or

（4） acting in violation of the second paragraph of Article 25 hereof by making unauthorized use of data， records， samples， vouchers or other original information on petroleum operations， or by assigning， donating， exchanging， selling， publishing the same without authorization， or by transporting or transmitting the same out of the People's Republic of China without authorization.

Article 28 Anyone that violates Articles 11， 16， 23 and 24 hereof shall be punished by the relevant department-in-charge of the State in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. If the violation constitutes a criminal offense， criminal liability shall be pursued according to law.

Article 29 For the purpose of these Regulations， the following terms shall have the meanings assigned to them below：

（1） the term “petroleum” shall mean underground crude oil and natural gas that is being or has been extracted；

（2） the term “on-shore petroleum resources” shall mean underground petroleum resources anywhere within the on-shore area （including sea beaches， islands and marine areas extending from the on-shore area up to a water depth of 5 meters）；

（3） the term “exploitation” shall mean the exploration for and the development， production and sale of petroleum， as well as activities in connection therewith；

（4） the term “petroleum operations” shall mean exploration， development and production operations carried out in order to implement a contract， as well as activities in connection therewith；

（5） the term “exploration operations” shall mean all work carried out to find oil-bearing traps by various means such as geological， geophysical and geochemical means， including the drilling of exploration wells， as well as all work carried out to determine whether a discovered petroleum trap has commercial value， such as the drilling of appraisal wells， feasibility studies and preparation of overall development programs for the oil（gas） field；

（6） the term “development operations” shall mean all designing， manufacturing， installation and drilling projects， and the corresponding research， carried out as from the date of approval of the overall development program for the oil（gas）field for the purpose of realizing petroleum production， including production activities carried out prior to the commencement of commercial production；

（7） the term “production operations” shall mean all operations carried out for the purpose of petroleum production as from the date of commencement of the commercial production of an oil（gas） field as well as all activities in connection therewith.

Article 30 Articles 4， 11， 12， 15， 16， 17 and 22 hereof shall be applicable to foreign subcontractors.

Article 31 These Regulations shall become effective on the date of promulgation.