Course Description

THE RATIONALE

This comprehensive Oil & Gas Contracts training course will provide many opportunities for participants to have interactive discussion and review case studies and discuss the various legal and regulatory aspects of these contracts. Participants will gain a true understanding of the legal underpinnings of the oil and gas contracts used around the world in the oil and gas sector.

This training course will provide its participants with valuable insight into the operations of the Oil and Gas Industry in a modern context. Oil and Gas contracts are the life blood of the industry and form the basis and foundation upon which the industry operates.  Participants will have a frame work within which to understand the rights and obligations of both host country and operators and how they are determined and set out in the oil and gas contracts. There will be development of a strong understanding of some key commercial transactions and contracts in the oil and gas sector.

Those taking the course will be equipped with the knowledge of different types of contracts and commercial arrangements entered into by commercial parties in the course of the exploration and production (upstream) and the sale (downstream) of oil and gas.

The legal principles involved will be highlighted and discussed in order to provide a solid understanding of the legal basis for Oil and Gas contracts. The fundamental knowledge of Risk management in the oil and gas industry will be discussed and participants will get to understand investor protection in the oil and gas industry and how this can be achieved. In addition, the course will cover sale and purchase and transportation contracts in use in the industry.

THE COURSE OBJECTIVES:

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

• Develop an understanding of some key commercial contracts in the upstream and some downstream sectors.
• Learn about the commercial rationale, purpose, structure of these contracts.
• Gain detailed knowledge about a wide range of legal issues and problems, arising under these contracts, and how these issues are resolved by some major legal systems, such as English law.
• Develop an ability to evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of different contractual solutions adopted in respect of various issues and problems.
• Gain an understanding of the relevant legal framework of some major legal regimes, such as that of English law and the UN Sales Convention.

THE COURSE OUTLINE

The course will cover the following:

MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION TO OIL AND GAS CONTRACTS, LICENCING AND PRODUCTION RIGHTS

• Principal Licensing and Contractual Arrangements
• Upstream and Downstream Contracting
• Financing in the International Oil & Gas Industry
• Specific Risks in Upstream & Downstream Contracts
• Sale and Purchase and Transportation Agreements
• Agreements on Acquisition and Disposal of Assets: General Introduction
• Contractual Claims and Resultant Disputes

MODUL.E 2: EMERGENCE OF NEW CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENTS

• The Modern Concession Contracts
• The Production Sharing Contracts
• Participation Agreements and Joint Operation Agreements (JOA)
• Service Contracts, Pure Service Contracts, Risk Service Contracts
• Environmental Impacts in the Context of Protection Policies and Requirements
• Regulatory Framework, Institutional Factors and Infrastructure
• Comparative Analysis of the Different Contract Forms

MODULE 3: STABILISATION CLAUSES AND INTERNATIONAL PETROLEUM AGREEMENTS

• Stabilisation Clauses Defined
• Typology of Stabilisation Clauses
• Validity and Efficacy of the Stabilization Clause
• Stabilisation Clauses and the National and International Law
• The Re-negotiability of International Petroleum Agreements: Stability vs. Flexibility
• The Triggering Events for Renegotiation

MODULE 4: KEY CONTRACTUAL ISSUES & RISK ALLOCATION IN OIL AND GAS CONTRACTS

• Liabilities & Exclusion and Limitation
• Indemnity and Exclusion Clauses: Why the need?
• Distinctions and Definitions: Indemnity vs. Exclusion vs. Limitation
• Mutual Hold Harmless – The ‘knock for knock’ regime
• Sole risk and non-consent options
• Forms of Exclusion Clauses (and why it matters) Common Carve-outs
• Performance & Penalties
• Termination Clauses and Right to Terminate
• Force Majuere, Change in Law and other Disputes

MODULE 5: METHODS OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION UNDER CROSS BORDER / INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS

• Arbitration & Mediation – Important Disparities
• Mediation, Conciliation, Adjudication & Dispute Boards
• Enforcement of International Arbitration Awards
• The Role of Negotiation Strategies in Dispute Avoidance under Oil & Gas Contracts
• Contemporary Developments in Case Law and Legislation

TARGET AUDIENCE

• Contracts Administrators & Managers
• Project & General Management Managers
• Commercial & Business Managers
• Commercial, Financial and Insurance Professionals
• Legal Managers & Legal Counsel

Delivery Method: Combines lectures, discussions, group exercises and illustrations

Venue:

Fee:

Duration: 1 week

Course Date: Feb 13th -17th 2023