was one of the four managing directors. BNOC took over the oil and gas assets of NCB (Exploration) Ltd. a subsidiary of the National Coal Board. From February 1976 BNOC’s capital expenditure budget for the following 15 months was £450 million. The BNOC could negotiate the right to buy back up to 51 per cent of an oil field’s production. In practice this was sold back to companies to refine. In 1976 BNOC obtained the majority of Burmah Oil Company’s UK interests in the Ninian and Thistle fields. BNOC thereby became an operating oil company. The Labour government had intended to buy its way into oil finds as a full licensee with a 51 per cent interest. However, the government decided to participate through negotiated agreements where it had the right to take at market price up to 51 per cent of crude oil and natural gas liquids, and any natural gas not purchased by the British Gas Corporation. The Secretary of State for Energy made the Submarine Pipe-lines (Inspectors etc.) Regulations 1977 Statutory Instrument 1977 No. 835 and appointed inspectors into the Petroleum Engineering Division of the Department of Energy. Later enactments Under the terms of the Oil and Gas (Enterprise) Act 1982 the British National Oil Corporation was split into an oil production organisation – Britoil – which was floated on the stock exchange in 1982 and 1985, and a residuary trading arm. The Oil and Pipelines Act 1985 repealed Part 1 (Sections 1-16) of the 1975 Act and formally abolished the British National Oil Corporation and transferred its property, rights and liabilities to the Oil and Pipelines Agency. The Petroleum Act 1987, made provision for the abandonment of offshore installations and submarine pipe-lines; it amended the Petroleum (Production) Act 1934; and amended the Petroleum and Submarine Pipe-lines Act 1975. The 1987 Act repealed Sections 34 to 39 of the 1975 Act relating to oil refineries. The Petroleum and Submarine Pipe-lines Act 1975 was repealed on 15 February 1999 under the provisions of the Petroleum Act 1998. See also Oil and gas industry in the United Kingdom North Sea Oil Petroleum refining in the United Kingdom UK oil pipeline network CLH Pipeline System Petroleum Act References United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1975 History of the petroleum industry in the United Kingdom 1975 in economics