29. Offences

Official English translation. Where it differs from the Sinhala or Tamil text, the Act itself says which text prevails.

(1)

Any person who —

(a)

conducts petroleum operations in contravention of the provisions of section 7;

(b)

resists or obstructs a person authorized under section 29 in the exercise by such person or officer of any powers conferred on him by or under this Act;

(c)

fails without reasonable cause, to comply with the requirements of a notice issued under paragraph (n)

of section 6;

(d)

knowingly makes any false statement in any return or information furnished by him under section 6 or in any application to enter into a Petroleum

Resources Agreement in respect of an exploration block;

(e)

willfully omits any material fact from any return or information furnished by him under section 6 or in any application to enter into a Petroleum Resources

Agreement in respect of an exploration block;

(f)

willfully damages or sabotages any petroleum operations;

(g)

fraudulently or negligently deprives the State of its share of petroleum resources or Petroleum Resources

Royalty;

(h)

contravenes any regulation made under this Act, shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on condition after summary trial before a Magistrate, to a fine of not less than four million rupees and not exceeding one hundred million rupees or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both such fine and imprisonment, and if the offence of which he is convicted is continued after the conviction, he shall be guilty of a further offence and shall be liable in respect hereof to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand rupees for each day on which the offence is so continued.

(2)

Where a person is convicted of an offence under paragraph (g) of subsection (1), the Magistrate may order the offender to pay to the State, compensation in such sum as is equivalent to the value of the petroleum resources or the

Petroleum Resources Royalty, which the State has been deprived of, as a result of the act constituting the offence.

Read on from s 30