(1) A contractor shall not produce or inject petroleum if the contractor does not have an annual permit granted for that purpose by the Commission.

(2) The annual permit shall be obtained by application in writing to the Commission.

(3) The form and content of the application for an annual production permit to produce and inject petroleum shall be as prescribed and shall include a long-term production forecast updated from the plan of development and operation.

(4) The Commission shall, upon receipt of the application from the contractor, issue an annual production permit stipulating the quantity of petroleum which may be produced or injected.

(5) The stipulation of the quantity specified in subsection (4) shall be based on the long-term production schedule in the plan of development and operation, unless new information on the reservoir or other new relevant circumstances warrant otherwise.

(6) The Commission may include in the production permit the permission to flare or vent petroleum as provided in section 33.

(7) The Commission may upon receipt of the application made by a contractor approve test production of a petroleum field and the duration, quantity and other conditions for the test production shall be determined by the Commission.

(8) The Commission may require a contractor to submit a report on field related matters, including alternative schemes for production and where applicable, the injection and the total recovery factor for the various schemes.

(9) The Commission may direct a contractor to take appropriate steps to increase or reduce the rate of petroleum production to a rate that will enhance optimum recovery of petroleum from the field and that will not exceed the capacity of existing production facilities.

(10) The Commission in consultation with the Minister may direct the modification of the long term production schedule approved in accordance with this section when the national interest so requires.

(11) The Minister shall, where the decision is related to several fields and requires a reduction in production, endeavour to apportion the reduction proportionately among those fields to the extent possible.

(12) This section applies to the Corporation where it undertakes petroleum activities under section 11 (1)