Visual documentation and immediate referral to the prosecution.. “Energy” controls petroleum violations

The competent department or the relevant committee to impose penalties, in accordance with precise regulatory procedures.

Obligations and responsibilities of inspectors

The regulations stipulate several obligations for the inspector while carrying out his duties, the most prominent of which is presenting the inspector’s card to prove his official capacity, and disclosing any conflict of interest that may arise during the control process.

The inspector must ensure that the violation occurred and that evidence is sufficient to prove it and attribute it to the violator, with complete documentation. of the incident using multiple means, including visual and photographic imaging, preparing the necessary reports, withdrawing suspected samples of petroleum or petrochemical materials, seizing the relevant tools and materials, while collecting all supporting documents to ensure the safety of Procedures and decisions.

Monitoring and proving violations

The Ministry explained that monitoring violations is carried out in several ways, including field inspection visits, reviewing the periodic documents that the Ministry requests from licensees, in addition to reports submitted about the occurrence of a violation, and any legal means that guarantees its proof.

The regulations stipulate that proving violations is usually done by examining them in the field, while allowing the use of documents or any A regular means of proving violations that can be dealt with without being present on site, with special exceptions for some critical violations that are referred directly to the Public Prosecution.

The regulations specify a set of basic requirements for proving violations, which are prepared according to a guide prepared by the secretariat, and include at least: a report of detecting the violation that includes the serial number and numbering of all pages, a report of collecting samples when needed, a report of hearing statements, a report of witnessing or proving a case, a report proving failure to correct, and any other documents or evidence. The violation is proven.

Procedures for issuing reports

The inspector writes a report of detecting the violation according to specific data that includes the place, time and date of issuing the report, the type of violation and the place where it occurred, the violator’s information (name, capacity, and civil registry number or unified establishment number), description of the violation and the mechanism for monitoring it, and the inspector’s name and signature.

The regulations include details of the procedures for hearing the statements of the violator or his legal representative in his presence or Electronically, documenting the session with audio and video, verifying the identity of the parties, and recording all data related to the statements in official records.

Sampling and seizing materials

The regulations allow the inspector to withdraw samples of suspected petroleum or petrochemical materials, while writing a report that includes accurate data on the material, its source, the nature of its use and volume, and the name of the inspector and the person affiliated with the facility, with proof of any abstention from signing.

The regulations stipulate the possibility of seizing the materials. Violating materials, recording their data, specifying the reason for the seizure, its duration and location, and requesting a pledge from those in possession of them not to dispose of them except after the Ministry’s approval, taking into account security and safety procedures.

The seized materials are referred to the competent committee within a period not exceeding seven working days to take a decision to continue the seizure or cancel it within a maximum period of twenty working days.

In urgent cases that require a quick decision from the Minister, the competent department must submit an explanatory memorandum attached to the violation file. And the supporting documents within three days, including a description of the violation, its current and potential effects, and the measures proposed to be taken to ensure the protection of the state’s interests.

Warning and corrective time limit

The regulations stipulate that the competent administration is obligated to warn non-serious violators after issuing a report of the violation, and to give them a corrective time limit according to the number of days specified in the violation schedules.

This is followed by verifying that the violation has been corrected immediately upon expiration of the time limit, and when the time limit has not been corrected. The penalty shall be imposed immediately for violations that deserve immediate penalties, or the prosecution file shall be submitted to the Secretariat for non-serious violations, attached with a report proving the failure to correct. In cases where the violation needs to be corrected for a longer period, the defendant can submit a corrective plan within ten days, with the possibility of extending the deadline up to 365 days according to the Ministry’s approval.

Imposition of penalties and filing of grievances

The regulations set precise rules for imposing penalties, taking into account the repetition of the violation within three years, and the controls for re-imposing the penalty after at least 14 days have passed, and granting the competent committee the authority to impose non-financial penalties, or fines exceeding the maximum limit in cases of repeated violation or damages. Large.
It stipulates reducing the penalty for attempting or participating in a violation to half the penalty, taking into account the global value of the petroleum substance when detecting the violation in some cases.

The regulations allow those affected by immediate penalties to file a grievance before the Ministry within 60 days, with an internal committee considering the grievances within 30 days, and the right to appeal directly before the administrative courts. The regulation also stressed that the competent department should prepare the necessary procedural forms and manuals, review them periodically, and submit the review results to the Minister to take what he deems appropriate, with the regulation being published on the official website of the Ministry immediately after its approval.

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