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According to Sinochem New Network, in order to improve the management of the issuance of safety production licenses for oil and gas enterprises, the Ministry of Emergency Management has drafted the \"Implementation Measures for Safety Production Licenses of Oil and Gas Enterprises (Draft for Comment)\\" (hereinafter referred to as the \"Measures\"). Public comments are now being sought from the public, with the deadline for submitting such comments set for May 7, 2026. A relevant official from the Ministry of Emergency Management stated that, given that the regulatory system and mechanisms for safety supervision in the oil and natural gas industry remain unchanged at present, it is not appropriate to continue implementing regulations and policies related to non-coal mines. Therefore, while the **Mine Safety Supervision Bureau** is leading the revision of the “Implementation Measures for Safety Production Licenses of Non-Coal Mine Enterprises” (promulgated by Order No. 20 of the State Administration of Work Safety in 2009 and amended by Order No. 78 of the same administration in 2015; hereinafter referred to as Order No. 20), it is also necessary to formulate these “Measures.” This will help further differentiate the safety production requirements applicable to oil and natural gas enterprises from those for non-coal mines, thereby providing tailored safety production regulatory services for the oil and natural gas industry. The Measures consist of 7 chapters and 42 articles. Compared with Order No. 20, they maintain policy continuity and stability; all currently effective practices remain unchanged, and the main provisions follow those of Order No. 20, thereby minimizing the impact on enterprises ; Some regulations have been optimized and improved in light of practical work requirements, mainly including: first, the requirement to submit a copy of the mining license has been adjusted to require the submission of a copy of the exploration license or the mining license. In line with the needs of reforming the integrated system for oil and gas exploration and exploitation, it is necessary to ensure a smooth alignment between safety production policies and policies related to integrated oil and gas exploration and exploitation, so as to actively support the strategy of increasing oil and gas reserves and production. Second, it supplements and refines the definitions of different types of oil and gas enterprises. The subcategories of oil and gas enterprises were further clarified, including 8 types in total: onshore oil (gas) production, offshore oil (gas) production, geophysical exploration, drilling, logging, well recording, downhole operations, and pipeline transportation. Third, optimize the requirements regarding safety production conditions and the documentation to be submitted, and clarify the requirement to employ registered safety engineers. Fourth, clarify the entity responsible for issuing licenses to oil and gas companies. It is specified that licenses shall be issued to enterprises engaged in the exploration, development, production, and transportation of oil and gas (shale gas), as well as to the lower-level production units, thereby reducing the burden of obtaining licenses on these grassroots enterprises. Fifth is to standardize construction operations across provinces. Article 21 is added to the Measures: “Enterprises engaged in geophysical exploration, drilling, logging, well logging, and downhole operations on land that carry out such activities outside the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government where they are registered shall submit a written report to the emergency management department at or above the county level in the location where the operations are carried out prior to starting those operations.” Enterprises engaged in geophysical exploration, drilling, logging, well logging, and downhole operations at sea shall, in accordance with the division of responsibilities for safety supervision in offshore oil operations, submit a written report to the regional supervision department of the relevant branch of the Offshore Oil Safety Supervision Office prior to carrying out such operations, thereby further clarifying the requirements for written reports regarding operations conducted by oil and gas enterprises across provinces and sea areas.