Oil and Gas Law in the UK offers in-depth analysis of the central legal issues connected to this important UK industry. The second edition of this text provides an overview of the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) and how it relates to oil and gas law. It also offers: - Coverage of operations, contracting and the future of the UKCS - A detailed examination of the UK oil and gas industry - Consideration of the general framework of the international oil and gas industry Oil and Gas Law in the UK is written in a clear and reader-friendly style and includes detailed appendices on cross-boundary agreements and guidance on disputes.
This book provides a comprehensive overview of the key aspects and contracts involved in the process of developing oil and gas projects, with an emphasis on offshore developments. Project development in oil and gas carries with it numerous unique risks and challenges. By identifying and managing risk through the various contract stages, each stage of the project is seen in perspective and therefore gives readers a better understanding of how that stage was arrived at and what is expected to come later. To do this, the authors use illustrative international case studies from past and current projects, thereby deepening the reader’s understanding and awareness of risk from practical experience, as well as suggesting answers for those who are involved in developing oil and gas projects. The Application of Contracts in Developing Offshore Oil and Gas Projects is intended for project owners, project managers, contractors, finance managers, commercial managers and lawyers who seek to understand the subject from a practical point of view.
In recent years, a great deal has changed in the oil and gas industry, from legal and regulatory change to falling oil prices. This updated third edition of UK Oil and Gas Law has been published in two volumes: this volume focuses on commercial and contract law issues.
International commercial gas sale agreements are often characterised by a duration of twenty years or more. Consequently, when unforeseen events alter market conditions the contractual equilibrium originally found by the parties is disrupted, giving rise to the necessity to renegotiate and adapt the agreement. If negotiation fails, the parties in most cases submit the matter to arbitration. This comprehensive analysis of what can happen under such circumstances proceeds from an in-depth consideration of the power of arbitrators to intervene on the agreement in the light of arbitrability and procedural law. The author fully explains the complex special nature of gas pricing and contract clauses, and takes into account such features as the following, especially in the wake of the 2009 crisis as it affected the gas sector: - take or pay clauses; - mechanisms for gas price calculation; - price review and price re-opener clauses; - hardship provisions; - problems arising from the absence of a specific clause providing for adaptation/adjustment; - effect on contracts of the emergence and development of spot or traded gas markets; and - trend toward introducing spot-market elements into an oil-indexed price formula. The analysis draws on interviews with lawyers and arbitrators who have been involved in recent proceedings regarding gas sale contract adaptations, and also considers court decisions issued in setting aside or enforcing arbitration awards handed down in energy disputes. A central discussion throughout this book is the possible responses to the question of whether it is possible to determine a principle of law justifying the arbitrator’s power to intervene in contract adaptation. All professionals involved in the production, wholesaling, or distribution of gas will find this book indispensable. It will also be of special value to practitioners, policymakers, and regulators in the fields of energy law and environmental law.
Oil and Gas Law in the UK offers in-depth analysis of the central legal issues connected to this important UK industry. The second edition of this text provides an overview of the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) and how it relates to oil and gas law. It also offers: - Coverage of operations, contracting and the future of the UKCS - A detailed examination of the UK oil and gas industry - Consideration of the general framework of the international oil and gas industry Oil and Gas Law in the UK is written in a clear and reader-friendly style and includes detailed appendices on cross-boundary agreements and guidance on disputes.
The UK Oil and Gas industry has evolved at unprecedented speed over the past four decades. It has attracted a great deal of attention from a range of industry players and regulators throughout the world. This is largely because the petroleum industry brings together the most powerful public and private actors in the form of states and trans-national corporations. Oil and Gas Law provides a comprehensive overview of the central legal issues in the UK oil and gas industry today. It is essential reading for the wide range of players in the oil and gas industry, including policy makers, researchers and academics. Oil and Gas Law covers such important topics as: Ownership of oil and gas law; Operating in the UKCS; Oil and gas contracting in the UK; Oil and gas taxation; Dispute resolution in oil and gas contracting; Environmental regulation in UKCS; Health and Safety issues; Renewable energy issues; Decommissioning. Written in a clear and reader-friendly style this is an invaluable source of reference for all those requiring up-to-date guidance on legal issues affecting the UK oil and gas industry.
In response to the primacy of English law as the lingua franca governing petroleum transactions, and the increased global demand for new sources of oil and gas, this fully updated new edition analyses the application of English law to contracts for project investment, financing, and development. The book provides practitioners and other parties with essential operational detail, as well as advising on the implications of English law on the interpretation of relevant provisions. The scope extends, unusually, beyond petroleum contracts made in the UK to cover all petroleum contracts worldwide, delivering exceptionally extensive coverage of this ever-growing sector for an international market. This work is a stand-alone practical guide on the application of English law to petroleum contracts, and provides a detailed and scholarly level of analysis, with reference to all relevant contracts and case law. Beginning with an introduction to the English legal system and the law of general contract, the author goes on to distinguish those characteristics that set petroleum contracts apart from others, including distinction between upstream, midstream, and downstream agreements. The contracts considered include those for the financing, management, sale, purchase and exchange of petroleum assets and interests (collectively called interest contracts), and contracts for the management, sale, purchase and exchange of petroleum quantities and petroleum storage, transportation and capacities (collectively called commodity contracts). Subsequent chapters introduce preliminary petroleum contracts and the obligation to negotiate, conditions precedent and subsequent, joint ventures, and the involvement third parties and the implications for privity in this context. Breaches and doctrines triggered by the impossibility of performance are set out in detail, alongside legal advice on damages, termination, liability allocation and equitable remedies. All relevant provisions are analysed in a final chapter of miscellaneous analysis, ensuring a truly comprehensive treatment of the sector. This new edition has been updated with new chapters on contract architecture and related issues and new sections on the Limitation Act and tolling, further assurances, quantum meruit and estoppel. Chapters have been updated in light of key cases on good faith and relational contracts, fiduciary duties and consequential loss recognitions, amongst others. As English law continues to grow in international importance, this is a key text for practitioners in a number of jurisdictions who are looking to draft contracts or handle international transactions under the umbrella of English law.
