Article 2

For the purposes of this Directive: 1. 'natural gas undertaking` means any natural or legal person carrying out at least one of the following functions: production, transmission, distribution, supply, purchase or storage of natural gas, including LNG, which is responsible for the commercial, technical and/or maintenance tasks related to those functions, but shall not include final customers; 2. 'upstream pipeline network` means any pipeline or network of pipelines operated and/or constructed as part of an oil or gas production project, or used to convey natural gas from one or more such projects to a processing plant or terminal or final coastal landing terminal; 3. 'transmission` means the transport of natural gas through a high pressure pipeline network other than an upstream pipeline network with a view to its delivery to customers; 4. 'transmission undertaking` means any natural or legal person who carries out the function of transmission; 5. 'distribution` means the transport of natural gas through local or regional pipeline networks with a view to its delivery to customers; 6. 'distribution undertaking` means any natural or legal person who carries out the function of distribution; 7. 'supply` means the delivery and/or sale of natural gas, including LNG, to customers; 8. 'supply undertaking` means any natural or legal person who carries out the function of supply; 9. 'storage facility` means a facility used for the stocking of natural gas and owned and/or operated by a natural gas undertaking, excluding the portion used for production operations; 10. 'storage undertaking` means any natural or legal person who carries out the function of storage; 11. 'LNG facility` means a terminal which is used for the liquefaction of natural gas or the offloading, storage and re-gasification of LNG; 12. 'system` means any transmission networks and/or distribution networks and/or LNG facilities owned and/or operated by a natural gas undertaking, including its facilities supplying ancillary services and those of related undertakings necessary for providing access to transmission and distribution; 13. 'interconnected system` means a number of systems which are linked with each other; 14. 'direct line` means a natural gas pipeline complementary to the interconnected system; 15. 'integrated natural gas undertaking` means a vertically or horizontally integrated undertaking; 16. 'vertically integrated undertaking` means a natural gas undertaking performing two or more of the tasks of production, transmission, distribution, supply or storage of natural gas; 17. 'horizontally integrated undertaking` means an undertaking performing at least one of the functions of production, transmission, distribution, supply or storage of natural gas, and a non-gas activity; 18. 'related undertaking` means affiliated undertakings, within the meaning of Article 41 of the Seventh Council Directive, 83/349/EEC, of 13 June 1983 based on Article 54(3)(g) of the Treaty on consolidated accounts (7), and/or associated undertakings, within the meaning of Article 33(1) thereof, and/or undertakings which belong to the same shareholders; 19. 'system user` means any natural or legal person supplying to, or being supplied by, the system; 20. 'customers` means wholesale or final customers of natural gas and natural gas undertakings which purchase natural gas; 21. 'final customer` means a consumer purchasing natural gas for his own use; 22. 'wholesale customers`, where Member States recognise their existence, means any natural or legal persons who purchase and sell natural gas and who do not carry out transmission or distribution functions inside or outside the system where they are established; 23. 'long-term planning` means the planning of supply and transportation capacity of natural gas undertakings on a long-term basis with a view to meeting the demand for natural gas of the system, diversification of sources and securing supplies to customers; 24. 'emergent market` means a Member State in which the first commercial supply of its first long-term natural gas supply contract was made not more than 10 years earlier; 25. 'security` means both security of supply and provision, and technical safety. CHAPTER II GENERAL RULES FOR THE ORGANISATION OF THE SECTOR

← art_1__para · All articles · art_2__para →

Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-02 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.