Oil and Gas Law

This paper will discuss the political and legal aspects of the maritime disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean and the factors relevant to their conciliation. The first part of the paper introduces the Mediterranean Sea and the relevance of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) regime in its basins. Subsequently, the author summarizes relevant historical cleavages in the Levant Basin, with a focus on relevant modern Lebanese-Israeli, Lebanese-Syrian and inter-Cypriot events. Part III will discuss the increasing interest in EEZ delimitation over the past decade due to hydrocarbon prospects in the Eastern Mediterranean and the geopolitical and maritime challenges that have since taken shape. Finally, based on the Law of the Sea and previous examples from around the world, the author discusses relevant legal avenues for achieving balanced solutions to maritime tensions in the region and presents the most relevant criteria in delimiting maritime boundaries.

(with Madeleine J. Lewis)

Conditions precedent to Farmout Agreements (FOA) are critical in ensuring that an agreement is fulfilled under conditions that are protective of the parties' interests in the agreement. Conditions precedent offer parties an escape route from a project if certain approvals are not obtained or if other unexpected circumstances render the project legally or technically infeasible. In the context of FOAs, parties may make their agreement to a project contingent upon governmental approvals, the farmee's timely drilling of wells, or environmental assessments, for example. Generally, if one or several conditions have not been fulfilled by a certain date, the parties may have the right to terminate the contract. As with any contractual clause, ambiguous or contentious conditions precedent are likely to foment disagreement among parties and may result in disputes. Though many ambiguities can be avoided through precise language and careful drafting, it is not always possible to avoid the host of potential disagreements regarding the correct interpretation of a contract. For seamless resolution of disputes, parties to a FOA must carefully select their FOA model in light of the parties' specific positions and interests. This article endeavors to provide a limited overview of conditions precedent in FOAs for students and young practitioners, and highlight possible dispute resolution planning techniques for use in practice.

Compressed gas sampling for microorganisms is an important part of contamination control assessment.  This paper addresses topics related to microbial assessment of compressed gases.  These include gas purity including moisture considerations, sterile filtration, compressed gas standards, microbial contamination, microbial survival, sampling and testing requirements, instrumentation, and various sampling considerations including growth medium choice and frequency, and reporting requirements.

Industrial control systems are nowadays exposed in environments with rapid and unstable parameter changes and uses measuring equipments with critical output sensitivity. In the case of thermal gas analyzer, measurement errors are contributed by temperature, gas flow, and pressure. Error compensation is a key problem for these control systems. In recent years, it has been proven in the literature that artificial neural network (ANN) is a reliable and low cost solution to manage errors. Among all the algorithms of ANN, the back propagation is commonly used because of its simplicity and learning methodology is easy to realize. However, it has two notable drawbacks: (a) it is likely to run into local minimum, and (b) convergence is slow. Thermal conductivity gas analyzer often works in adverse surroundings, which requires fast and accurate measurements. Therefore, a strong learning network is needed. This paper proposes a novel thermal gas analyzer using adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system. The effectiveness and validity of the proposed method is verified by simulation studies using MATLAB. Fuzzy membership rules are created to allow regulation of learning parameters. Further, the fuzzy adaptive network model is constructed to train large data samples while the high precision compensation of sensor error is realized by the improved flow. Simulation results reveal that the convergence speed and output accuracy is improved and the learning parameters in thermal gas analyzer are automatically corrected by the proposed method in comparison with the back propagation algorithm of artificial neural network.

ABSRACT
Title: The Legal Status of Kenyan women and ways of improvement
This paper in a detailed comparative analysis of the domestic laws and International treaties ratified by Kenya, looks into the legal position of a Kenyan woman at length, the outlook and the roadmap towards a better domestic legislative framework .This includes but not limited to discriminatory cultural practices that affect women’s rights. The discrimination relates to female passage rites. It also discusses issues of domestic violence and women property rights. Finally it looks into avenues in which women can access justice in order to secure their rights.
It brings into light the Constitution 2010 and various legislations that have advanced Kenyan women’s rights. The legislations are measured against the rights of women safeguarded under the Convention of Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women that provides a yardstick on the milestones made in promoting women’s rights. At length a positive critic is also discussed in the paper for cognisance.
In conclusion this paper denotes a thoughtful reasoning of the legal status of a Kenyan woman as an overriding interest and to make cognisant of the fact that gender inclusivity is a attracts wider space.

Project finance is a pervasive method of financing in developing countries. It has a significant advantage over traditional financing approaches. In the era of the globalization of business and investment, where the demand for energy has soared and many international oil companies and private and institutional investors ventured into the developing world, this method of finance has created a wealth of new opportunities to finance capital-incentive ventures, including development of oil production, gas transmission, and electric power generation facility. Beginning in the 1980s, the risk associated with the construction of large infrastructure were largely born by governments, which normally built and operated these projects through their own enterprises. However, most of these governments were in transition or post-conflict states-saddled with debt and unable to finance large expensive infrastructure projects. Through much of the mid-to-late twentieth century, these government came to adopt the view that the best way to boost economic growth would be to limit the government involvement and make room for private investments and innovation. The proposed solution was the private financing of large and capital-incentive infrastructure. The world's appetite for oil & gas is great and is steadily increasing. The consumption of oil & gas remains concentrated in wealthy nations, particularly the United States and China which has surpassed most of the industrialized countries to become the world's second-largest consumer of Energy. To satisfy this increasing high demand of energy, oil-producing countries have rushed to increase their productions. Thus, developing countries have been and continue to be a favored destination for international oil companies mainly because financial constraints have hindered these countries' ability to commit its financial resources to the development of their infrastructures. Project finance has developed in response to this critical need. It offers the prospect to appeal both domestic and international private investment, in addition, it allows the developing countries to harness private sector's skills, expertise, the necessary technology, and know

The author aims to present the broadest possible context of the Baltic Pipe project, including legal, and to some extent, economic considerations, which ought to be scrutinized along with the broader geopolitical considerations surrounding present energy-related race in Baltic Sea. The aim is to juxtapose the long-lasting Russo-German strategic partnership resting on the development of Nord Stream(s) pipeline surpassing Poland on the one side, with a collection of pipe-dream moves ushered by Washington and aimed at upending this partnership, the Baltic Pipe project included, on the other side. Sec 2 looks at the Nord Stream(s) project as the direct competitor of the Baltic Pipe, and at the efforts by both the US government and the EU institutions to undermine Russo-German co-operation, thereby helping the viability of the Baltic Pipe. The discussion of the Nord Stream(s) covers US’ attempts to torpedo the Nord Stream 2 with sanctions imposed in December 2019 (sec 2.1) and the EU’s crusade against the Nord Stream via blocking the full capacity use of the OPAL pipeline since 2009 (sec 2.2). Sec 3 looks at the US’s and Germany’s energy strategies toward the CEE, including the energy dimension of the US-led Three Seas Initiative (sec 3.1), which favour the Baltic Pipe project, and Germany’s Energiewende which is at odds with this project (sec 3.2). Secs 4 and 5 look at drivers for advancing the Baltic Pipe, which stem from the structure Poland’s electricity-generation market (sec 4) combined with Poland’s EU and international climate and emissions-related commitments (sec 5), which all force a country-wide shift to electricity-generation from natural gas. Section 6 looks at the Yamal Contract, which will secure gas supplies to Poland until it tentatively expires in 2022, and those supplies are entirely replaced with gas supplied via the Baltic Pipe. Finally, sec 7 looks at the regulatory issues, including the intergovernmental agreement on the Baltic Pipe (sec 7.1), funding of the project along with granted state aid (sec 7.2), and the permitting process (sec 7.3).

The trend of pollutant industries as a new and voluntary regulatory tool has increased due to ineffectiveness governmental regulations and their weaknesses in improving the environment. The oil and gas industry is no exception. the aim of this study is to explain the environmental issues of petroleum companies as one of the most environmental and environmental issues that companies are fully independent or they attempt in cooperation with the government to regulate their activities from the environmental point of view. In addition, the measures taken by international and international law, government and other stakeholders in the support and leadership of the companies will be mentioned. The research findings indicate that petroleum companies will be able to improve the environment and oil industry subject to acceptance of responsibility and the use of selfregulatory instruments as well as an observer such as the industrial community that meets the company's activities in accordance with the set-out rules.

Republic Act (RA) 8479 was passed into law in 1998. It paved the way for the deregulation of the downstream oil industry. RA 8479 has two objectives: to ensure a truly competitive market under a regime of fair prices, and to ensure adequate and continuous supply of environmentally clean and high-quality petroleum products. This study looks at the implementation of RA 8479, particularly by the Department of Energy (DOE). It presents the modes of and outcomes emanating from the implementation of RA 8479, and identifies issues in attaining the objectives of the law, based on the analysis of the law and its implementation. The scope is limited mainly to the DOE's role in the overall administration of the downstream oil industry, while mentioning only in passing the role of other agencies.

This article discusses the shifting roles of the Norwegian state as landlord and entrepreneur in developing and maintaining its national oil and gas industry. Drawing from endogenous-growth and small-state theories, the article discusses the roles of the Norwegian state as infant industry developer, mature industry controller, and national company owner. The Norwegian petroleum experience shows how a nation-state expressed clear visions and goals for an industrial sector, and took the role as leader of industrial and economic developments itself. The case argues that for a strategic national industry to be competitively developed and retained and social goals reached, a strong, comprehensive, and dynamic interaction between the state and industry, led by the state, may be necessary.

O conteúdo local aplicado ao setor de petróleo e gás consiste em uma garantia de participação da indústria brasileira na fase de desenvolvimento e exploração por meio do suprimento da demanda de bens e serviços. Tal política, aplicada desde 1999, tem fundamento nos objetivos constitucionais de desenvolvimento e redução das desigualdades, buscando atingi-los mediante, entre outras formas, o desenvolvimento da indústria nacional. Todavia, no modo como aplicada, ela não atingiu o desenvolvimento industrial esperado, passando, então, a ser debatida. Nesse contexto, por meio do Decreto nº 8.637/2016, criou-se o Programa de Estímulo à Competitividade da Cadeia Produtiva, ao Desenvolvimento e Aprimoramento de Fornecedores do Setor de Petróleo e Gás Natural (PEDEFOR). Explicar o processo de criação do PEDEFOR, sua relação com o conteúdo local e sua revogação é o objetivo deste trabalho. Assim, utilizando-se uma pesquisa de natureza aplicada, com objetivo descritivo e uma abordagem qualitativa conclui-se que o PEDEFOR, após um processo de criação bastante influenciado por auditorias realizadas pelo Tribunal de Contas da União, foi criado com o intuito de aprimorar a política em foco, ampliando a cadeia de fornecedores de bens, serviços e sistemas produzidos no Brasil; elevando a competitividade da indústria nacional; buscando aprimorar o nível de conteúdo local dos fornecedores já instalados; valorizando os operadores da cadeia de petróleo que adotam medidas positivas para o desenvolvimento da cadeia de fornecedores. Contudo, apesar de avanços atingidos, o programa foi revogado por meio do Decreto nº 10.

Indonesia is blessed with numerous variants of energy resources; both renewable and nonrenewable sources. From the plethora of alternatives, natural gas is among those energy resources which are gaining popularity, as evidenced by the significant increase in demand in recent years. Unfortunately, however, this positive increase in demand is not equally followed with the sufficient supply of natural gas. This consequently leads to a gap between the supply of natural gas and the increasing demand from the market. In order to equalize this disparity between supply and demand, numerous experts have raised the idea of further regulating the natural gas aggregator to resolve this issue. This article will provide a general overview of the definition of natural gas aggregators contained under the draft presidential regulation regarding downstream gas management and to compare it with the existing definitions of natural gas aggregators.

This paper focuses on the contractual mechanisms that will help to achieve a fair allocation of risk between operators and contractors in the oil and gas projects. Companies that are actively dealing with a wide range of activities which engage volatile hydrocarbons are exposed to substantial risks and liabilities. In this regard, most of the petroleum contracts for upstream projects depart from the common law tradition of risk allocation by shifting the risk to another party; this is done to protect commercial interests. To achieve this goal, contractual provisions are used in allocating the risks; especially those related to people, property and the environment. Risk allocation provisions deal with hypothetical events — this means that the identity of the person bearing the liability which will accrue if certain events take place is determined in advance. Such clauses are intended to ensure that, where harm arises, oil companies take responsibility for such harm and can meet the c...

'There is no doubt that the modern concession contract (MCC) and licensing regimes require a competitive bidding system to be used for awarding companies the exploration and production rights, whereas the risk service contract (RSC) regime requires a negotiation or a discretionary bidding system.'

Explain the essential features and underlying principles of the MCC, licensing and RSC regimes and critically explore the above statement.

Different oil producing countries adopt different types of oil and gas agreements to regulate their relationships with international oil and gas companies. These countries tailor petroleum fiscal regimes to fit their own desires. However, in some cases a host country may amend its petroleum fiscal regime due to changes in the internal and/or international economic and/or political environment or due to changes in the host government’s energy policy. The story of the UK petroleum concession and fiscal regime may be unique; this is due to the employment of a unique concession type of agreement, which no longer includes a royalty charge as a key element of its fiscal regime. The UK concession model is described as accommodating private interest under public control”. This work therefore will analyze the development of the tax regime in the UKCS from 1975 to present in the light of the above statement, and as well, make a comparison of the development of the regulatory and tax regime of Norway.

ABSTRACT
The Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism has served as a tool for conflict resolution in different spheres of the economy worldwide through the process of negotiation, mediation, arbitration, conciliation, and mini-trial. It has become an acceptable and certainly an unavoidable part of the global world.
  ADR is increasing in recognition in commercial disputes globally due to its wide range of options available to an aggrieved party. However, the mechanism is beginning to be introduced gradually into the oil-producing regions of Nigeria, Where oil spillages or oil pollution creates a lot of environmental disputes among the oil companies and various communities.
  However, aggrieved parties are now free to choose from the various options available and avoid the rigors of courtroom litigation. With this, the ADR mechanism if fully accepted will open a lot of opportunities for other sectors of the economy in Nigeria, as professionals from the banking, medical and maritime sectors will be willing to embrace the technique and have speedy results than go through the stress of court processes and trial adjournments. 
  The ADR mechanism allows for the free flow of justice to any injured party through speedy trials and out of court settlements, thereby making it a system Nigeria as a whole must join the global world in developing.
This paper tends to look at the function of ADR in the civil justice system as well as its importance in the enforceability of dispute resolution clauses. Although ADR is coupled with some advantages and disadvantages, its future is a determinate factor to its continued existence in Nigeria and the world at large.
This work tends to limit itself to the civil justice system as aforementioned and environmental dispute using the various ADR options present.

The Joint Operating Agreement (JOA), the constitutional document of an unincorporated joint venture  is, excluding the License, the most important legal instrument for oil operations in the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS).  As an overarching framework, it provides the means by which participants in the oil and gas industry ‘jointly develop a prospect and share the risks and rewards of exploration and production.’ 
The cost intensive nature of oil and gas operations require parties to contribute substantially, not only at the exploration, appraisal and development stage but also during the decommissioning stage, default by any of the parties may lead to unplanned expenses by Non Defaulting parties (NDP), delays and even abandonment of the venture. With regulatory changes and entry of smaller companies in mature oil and gas zones such as the UKCS, the risk of default increases significantly.  It is against this backdrop that this article considers enforceability of default provisions in JOAs with special emphasis on forfeiture within the UKCS.
Section 1 will discuss the different types of default provisions and procedure available in the Oil and Gas United Kingdom (OGUK) JOA while Section 2 considers the general rule on forfeiture, and examining likely pitfalls such as the Penalty rule, Anti-deprivation principles, relief from forfeiture and their implications for enforceability of default provisions.

A B S T R A C T Myanmar's political and economic transformation and drastic expansion of foreign direct investment in natural resource sector necessitate systematic safeguards to mitigate impacts from its development activities. Myanmar promulgated the first national EIA law and procedure only recently, in 2016, and the country's institutional and financial capacity is extremely limited to implement effective EIA. This article evaluates Myanmar's EIA system against a set of evaluative criteria developed by Wood (1995) and modified by Annandle (2001). The evaluation was based on the review of the literature, investigation of EIA legislative and administrative framework, and several other sources of data and information. Opinions of professionals from international and government agencies, and researchers are also solicited. The paper then evaluates the rate of EIA disclosure in O & G sector and whether EIA in Myanmar is significance in mitigating the impact of O & G operations on the environment. The review of EIA system indicates that Myanmar generally has sound legal and administrative framework for EIA, however, its practical implementation reveals several major challenges and weaknesses. The presence of more than one standard EIA procedure and lack of interdepartmental coordination and consultation are also major concerns. Overall, the quality of EIA reports and the level of disclosure in O & G sector is higher than that of other sectors in Myanmar. Through the analysis, the paper summarizes the fundamental challenges faced by companies and government, opportunities and good practices in implementing EIA systems and propose recommendations to strengthen EIA performance. The findings of this study expect to contribute to strengthening EIA system and performance in Myanmar and other developing countries, especially in Southeast Asia.

In the past 150 years the O&G industry has evolved abruptly both in technological terms and in economic importance . The industry now drills in almost every environment and under extreme conditions. What was little more than mining for oil in the early 1850s is now a high-tech, high risk industry that differs from other industries because of the risks inherent in O&G exploration and production activities . The risks are present in all stages of the project’s life cycle, they can be political, technical, human or commercial. Furthermore, the industry drains massive amounts of capital and its economic importance cannot be minimized .

During recent history, two major accident have shaken the industry and left an indelible mark. The Piper Alpha Accident in 1988 and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010 have reminded us that accidents are always possible and when they occur they have massive legal repercussions.

Generally contracts are supposed to regulate legal relations between the parties . The O&G actors have developed a very complex contractual framework adapted to the inherent and characteristic risks of the industry. Contract risk allocation is a legal way to organize the relations between the parties if the risks occurs. This process is particularly difficult in an industry in which contracts are characterized by a multiplicity of parties engaged in complex projects, facing enormous financial losses and cross-indemnity claims. Consequently, the industry has developed contractual risk re-allocation policies to limit, partially or totally liabilities incurred .

The most common contractual approach to deal with risk allocation in the O&G industry is to incorporate in the contact risk allocation clauses which mostly come in the form of an indemnity and hold harmless clause, an exclusion clause and, a limitation of liability clause .

Esta dissertação tem como objetivo estudar os chamados contratos de risco celebrados en-tre empresas multinacionais e a Petrobrás para exploração, avaliação e desenvolvimento de poços de petróleo em áreas selecionadas da bacia sedimentar brasileira, notadamente na plataforma continental. Para tanto, discutimos as contradições da relação entre os interesses de investimento das empresas petrolíferas internacionais e o capital estatal, especificamente, entre 1964 e 1984. Nossa metodologia buscou a contextualização histórica dos contratos de risco de modo a reconstituir sua memória econômica e social nos apoiando em fontes históricas sobre o tema, além de inseri-los nos condicionantes externos e internos da conjuntura econômica e política dos contextos do impe-rialismo sob o domínio externo estadunidense e, internamente, da doutrina do desenvolvimento com segurança dos governos militares. Também, refletimos a problemática dos contratos de risco a partir dos dilemas da formação econômica do Brasil, lhe conferindo um sentido qualitativo em nosso processo histórico. Desse modo, observamos a internacionalização da Petrobrás por meio dos contratos de risco como exemplo da instrumentalização da economia brasileira pela ação do capital internacional acentuando a dependência externa e transformando o petróleo brasileiro em negócio.

The Nigerian oil industry has continued to play a significant role in the nation’s drive towards economic growth and development. The sector has become the mainstay of the economy, pivoting other sectors and accounting for about 90% of the country’s foreign exchange earnings (Aghalino , 2012). Nigeria, OPEC’s sixth largest crude oil producer, with her abundant natural resources still import and pay international prices for a natural resources it has in abundance.

In an appeal case submitted to the House of Lords related to the Piper Alpha disaster, Lord Bingham  restated two points relating to the offshore oil and gas industry: (1) It is plain beyond doubt that an Oil Platform is a dangerous place unless careful and proper safety precautions are taken and (2) there are involved many contractors and subcontractors…
Consequently, contractual risk in upstream oil and gas projects is one of the key challenges of the offshore oil and gas industry. How a particular contract has been drafted to allocate and manage those risks become of crucial importance when an offshore incident occurs, and the liabilities and indemnities of the parties to the contract (and any third-parties) must be determined.
This paper:
1. Discusses the key concepts of contractual risk, liabilities, indemnities and mutual hold harmless clauses developed within the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) oil and gas licensing area. It was within the UKCS that an explosion and resulting fire occurred on the 6th July 1988, destroying the offshore oil production platform Piper Alpha, with the loss of 167 lives, an estimated £2 billion (current equivalent approximately £5 billion ) in losses, a lengthy public inquiry  and fourteen (14) years of litigation.
2. Assesses the effectiveness of the particular contractual provisions dealing with liabilities of, and indemnities between, the contracting parties.
3. Refers to actual contracts, cases and academic references pertaining to this subject area of international oil and gas contract law.