The Petroleum and Submarine Pipe-lines Act 1975 (1975 chapter 74) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which addressed the licensing, ownership, exploitation, production, transportation, processing and refining of petroleum and petroleum products in the UK. Enacted in 1975 when the UK’s first North Sea oil was produced, the Act aimed to provide greater public control of the oil industry. The Act established the British National Oil Corporation and a National Oil Account; modified the conditions of petroleum licences; controlled the construction and use of underground pipelines; and controlled the development of oil refineries. Background The incoming Labour government in October 1974 perceived significant deficiencies in the control and operation of the UK petroleum industry. One of Labour’s election manifesto pledges was to: "Take majority participation in all future oil licences and negotiate to achieve majority State participation in existing licences. Set up a British National Oil Corporation … Take new powers to control the pace of depletion, pipelines, exploration and development". The BNOC was to have several functions: holding production licences with private sector partners; commercial trading in downstream activities; exploration to establish the extent of reserves; providing expert services to the government; and acting as an agent of the government. The BNOC would provide resources to allow participation of the private sector in development of offshore oil. It would establish the conditions under which licences were awarded. It was also thought desirable that the government should have the power to make loans and to guarantee loans to oil companies developing discoveries in the North Sea. Furthermore, there was perceived to be little control over the development of oil pipelines to avoid unnecessary proliferation, to minimise damage, and to reduce the risk of pollution. Neither was there control over the safety of pipelines and protection of people laying them under hazardous conditions. Finally, the national policy on oil was generally not taken into account in decisions on oil refinery construction. To better exploit North Sea oil there was a need to have appropriate types of refining capacity. The Petroleum and Submarine Pipe-lines Act 1975 aimed to address these issues and implement the proposals. Petroleum and Submarine Pipe-lines Act 1975 The Petroleum and Submarine Pipe-lines Act 1975 (1975 c. 74) received Royal Assent on 12 November 1975. Its long title is: ‘An Act to establish the British National Oil Corporation and make provision with respect to the