Browse Hierarchy SOLM161: International and Comparative Petroleum Law and Contracts

Petroleum laws and contracts are the ultimate manifestation of policy and are the result of lengthy negotiation processes and have an unusual dynamic. According to the World Bank, between 1999 and 2010 more than 30 countries revised their petroleum contracts and made major amendments or completely changed their petroleum legal and fiscal framework. Several more countries have done the same since the 2014 oil price downturn in order to adapt themselves to the changes in the industry. This module will examine the main type of contracts used in the upstream petroleum industry (Production Sharing Agreements, Concessions and Service Agreements) and their most important legal and fiscal mechanisms and the reasons why these are so frequently changed. This course will also focus on the study of these contracts dynamics within the so-called energy transition, risk mitigation strategies in order to avoid the most common forms of legal and political risks: expropriations and contract renegotiation.