The processing and award of an application, as well as all other administrative documentation of an Exploration Permit, is done with the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce (General Hydrocarbon Subdepartment) in the case that the Permit falls in more than one Autonomous Community or wholly or partly over the sea. If the Permit is wholly within a single Community, the anterior cited applications and documentation must be processed by the Administrative Organisms empowered by that Community in these matters.

To ensure that the commitments of a Permit cited above are undertaken, the Permit Holder is obliged to provide a guarantee (in the format a bank guarantee or in cash). The amount of the before-mentioned guarantee is calculated in euros by multiplying the surface area of the Permit by 0.901518/ha. In the case of non-fulfilment of the investment commitment, the guarantee will be attached.