Chapter 5 Oversight
Article 21
In the event of an oil shortage or a great fluctuation in oil prices that might impact the steady supply of oil or national security, the central competent authority may institute measures on oil control, such as quotas, price controls, and security stockpile adjustments and utilization.
To clarify these measures, the central competent authority will draft a bill on oil control in emergency periods delineating the enforcement conditions, timing, procedures, applicable targets, scope, contents, and methods. The bill will then be submitted to the Executive Yuan (Cabinet) for final approval.
Article 22
All of the following businesses are required to obtain public liability insurance coverage and accidental contamination liability insurance: oil refinery businesses, oil import businesses, oil export businesses, gasoline and diesel oil wholesalers, gasoline stations, LPG stations, fishing boat filling stations, oil or LPG storage and refilling facilities of air terminals, commercial ports, and industrial ports as well as oil or LPG filling facilities installed for private use that meet the criteria set by the central competent authority.
The central competent authority will decide how much insurance coverage each business must obtain after conferring with the Ministry of Finance.
Article 23
Oil businesses are liable for damages caused by their production methods, import/export, sales, transport, and storage of oil products as well as for other damages caused by business-related activities.
Article 24
Oil refinery operators and importers are required to maintain an oil security stockpile of no less than sixty days of supply. The supply amount will be based on the average domestic sales and private consumption of the past twelve months. The security stockpile of LPG must amount to no less than twenty-five days of supply. The supply amount will be based on the average domestic sales and private consumption of the past twelve months.
The aforesaid security stockpile, oil refinery's total storage quantity must be no less than 50,000 kiloliters, and no less than 10,000 kiloliters for oil importers.
The government should make use of the Petroleum Fund to finance the storage of oil. The amount stored shall be calculated according to thirty days of the average domestic sales and consumption of the previous year.
The criteria and computation formulas for the actual security stockpiles referred to in the first paragraph will be determined by the central competent authority.
Article 25
Where different oil refinery operators or importers share the same oil storage facility for their security stockpile, they must file jointly with the central competent authority before the 20th of each month indicating the amount each of them stores in the said facility. If the actual volume stored jointly is lower than the total reported by the individual businesses, each individual business will be deemed to have failed to meet its security stockpile requirement unless evidence proves which business actually stored less than their required security stockpile amount.
Article 26
If an oil refinery operator or importer ceases operations, its storage of security stockpile may not be disposed of without the prior consent of the central competent authority.
The central competent authority may draw on the Petroleum Fund (see Chapter 6 herein) to purchase the aforesaid security stockpile.
Article 27
Before the end of October of each year, oil refinery operators must prepare and file with the central competent authority an annual production, import, export, and sales plan for the following year. Furthermore, before the 20th of each month they must file a report on the production, import, export, and sales of the previous month as well as a report on the status of their security stockpile for the current month.
The preceding paragraph also applies to oil importers, exporters, and gasoline/ diesel oil wholesalers.
Article 28
The central competent authority may ask oil refinery operators, importers, exporters, and gasoline/diesel oil wholesalers to report on their operations. The central competent authority may also send personnel or entrust a professional institution conduct an inspection of the actual operations, security stockpile, and relevant data of these businesses. A business may not obstruct, refuse, or evade such inspection.
The central competent authority may ask the manufacturers of petrochemical feedstock to report on their use of imported petroleum products. Or, the central competent authority may ask oil or non-oil businesses to name who bought the solvent oil and/or lubricant products the businesses imported or sold. Likewise, the central competent authority may send personnel or entrust a professional institution to conduct an inspection on the same issues. A business may not obstruct, refuse, or evade such inspection.
Competent authorities of different levels may ask gasoline, diesel oil, and LPG suppliers or their customers to name who bought their products. They may also send personnel or entrust a professional institution to conduct an inspection on the same issues. A business may not obstruct, refuse, or evade such inspection.
Article 29
Only petroleum products that meet the national standards, where such standards apply, can be imported or sold in the domestic market.
The central competent authority may send personnel or entrust a professional institution to examine the quality of the petroleum products sold. A business may not obstruct, refuse, or evade such examination.
Article 30
If the central competent authority revokes the license or registration certificate of an oil refinery operator, importer, exporter, or gasoline/diesel oil wholesaler, that business is prohibited from reapplying for another operation license or registration certificate within two years from the date of revocation.
If the operation license of the operators of a gasoline station, a LPG station, or a fishing boat filling station has been revoked, the original business body and its responsible person are prohibited from reapplying to setup a filling station at the original site within two years from the date of revocation.
If the installation permit of an oil/LPG filling or storage facility for private use has been revoked, the original site may not be used again for such a facility within two years from the date of revocation.
Article 31
Where necessary, oil refinery operators or importers may lay pipelines using rivers, irrigation canals and ditches, coastal areas, bridges, dikes, ports and harbors, roads, forest land, green land, parks, and other public lands.
Laying the pipeline may not adversely affect the safety or landscape or the original use of the premises on which the pipeline is laid. Before laying the pipeline, those who will do so, must get the approval of the central competent authority and the agency in charge of the land. The operator or importer must compensate for any damages incurred to the premises on which the pipeline is laid.
Oil refinery operators or importers who have oil pipelines may accept the request of other businesses to transmit oil through those pipelines.
Article 32
Oil refinery operators or importers must observe the following requirements in laying oil pipelines:
1.The materials of the pipeline must conform to national standards or other comparable standards.
2.The business must immediately replace corroded pipelines that pose a safety concern.
3.The business must conduct periodic inspections of its oil pipelines each year and save the inspection results for the competent authorities to review.
4.The competent authorities may send personnel or entrust a professional institution to conduct inspections of the pipelines. The business may not refuse such inspection.
5.The business must draw up a pipeline maintenance, inspection, replacement, anti-burglary, leak-proofing, and contingency plans for the following year before the end of October of each year. Before the end of January of each year, it must also produce a report on the inspection and replacement status of the pipeline for the previous year. This report must then be filed with the competent authorities.
6.The business must submit its oil pipeline layout diagrams, final acceptance drawings, and other relevant data to the competent authorities for the setup of a pipeline management information system.
If an inspection of the pipeline shows that the corrosion of pipes poses a safety concern, the competent authorities may demand that the business take remedial actions within a prescribed time period.
Article 33
Oil businesses must apply to the competent authority of the special municipality, the county, or the city government in which the business is located for permission to install oil storage facilities. The central competent authority will prescribe the rules governing the application procedures, land uses, requirements, and other administrative matters.
An oil business may ask an inspection institution sanctioned by the central competent authority to conduct periodic or occasional inspections of the aforesaid oil storage facilities and to prepare inspection records. The central competent authority may dispatch personnel or entrust an inspection institution to conduct spot checks of said storage facilities.
An oil business must retain the aforesaid inspection records for at least five years. If deemed necessary, the local competent authority of the special municipality, the county, or the city government in which the business is located may dispatch personnel to check those inspection records.
The central competent authority will stipulate the eligibility, requirements, fee schedule, and responsibilities of the inspection institution referred to in the second paragraph of this Article.