This detailed work is based on more than ten years experience in conducting tenders for the licensing of petroleum prospective acreage on behalf of a number of sovereign governments in Europe, Africa and the former Soviet Union. It explains the processes of licensing from the points of view of the two main protagonists, the government bodies and the international oil companies. The book also gives due prominence to the interests of the host communities and to the environment, as well as to the neighbouring states and the other participants who may be affected by the licensing process. In the modern world petroleum licensing takes place in the full glare of attention from the press and from public opinion. This work breaks new ground in recommending ways in which government and the oil companies may devise best practice in licensing to serve the interest of all parties and also an ethical business environment.

The grave concern of governments for the negative impact on the world climate caused by the release into the atmosphere of CO2 resulting from human activity, and under human control, such as the burning and combustion of oil products from the refinery, of natural gas and coal (the fossil fuels) made it possible for the international community to agree to and establish a global climate agreement, viz. The Paris Agreement of 1915. In order to meet the objectives of this Agreement, governments will try (among other measures) to curb the consumption of fossil fuels. This will not be easy since, in particular in less advanced economies, fossil fuels are for the coming decades indispensable. In more advanced economies, there are alternatives available, but as long as a possible switching to nuclear fission energy meets with public opposition, even the more advanced economies will remain dependent on fossil fuels for the coming decades. In its deeply informed discussion of the involvement of industry and governments with the production and use of petroleum, the prodigious scope of the coverage encompasses the following and much more: technical and environmental aspects of the production of oil and natural gas; position and function of petroleum and natural gas in the economy; government policies and attitudes towards fossil fuels, particularly with respect to climate change; national and international regulation of onshore or offshore petroleum operations; how oil and natural gas markets work; old and new forms and manifestations of political risk; distinction between licence-based and contract-based petroleum legislation; production sharing agreements; and petroleum taxation. The author draws on laws, contracts, government policy documents, trade journals, and statistical data available from international organizations and institutes and international oil companies. Underlying much of the review and discussion are governmental concerns with the prospects for economic alternatives and control of CO2 emissions. The often conflicting policy options open to governments and the consequences, if any, for both oil and natural gas and the petroleum industry are reviewed and discussed. All statistics and projections regarding reserves, production and consumption of oil and natural gas have been updated. Because so much continues to happen in the realm covered by this book, all who depend on its previous editions will need this updated and significantly rewritten edition. An indispensable resource for petroleum policymakers at every level, this book is of special importance and interest to petroleum venture managers, as well as for lawyers, independent consultants, and other professionals who are required to give advice with respect to the economic, regulatory, and cooperative aspects of petroleum operations.

The extractive industries (EI) sector occupies an outsize space in the economies of many developing countries. Policy makers, economists, and public finance professionals working in such countries are frequently confronted with issues that require an in-depth understanding of the sector, its economics, governance, and policy challenges

What does the future hold for oil and gas, what can we learn from the past and what role does law have to play in this? Using a unique temporal lens, this Research Handbook examines core themes in oil and gas regulation from historical, contemporary and forward-looking perspectives.

In this work, a distinction is made between two forms of cooperation in the exploration and exploitation of petroleum: proportional cooperation between oil companies who jointly own an exclusive petroleum right, either an exclusive licence or a risk contract; and non-proportional cooperation between state enterprises and oil companies who enter into production-sharing agreements or other type of risk contracts. The book explains the reasons for cooperation and the strategies followed to minimise non-market-related risks. It provides detailed analysis of customary joint venture agreements and of special provisions in these agreements such as non-consent options and sole risk options. The work further covers compulsory cooperation in the form of either state participation or unitisation agreements. A separate chapter is devoted to production-sharing agreements. This book is intended for geologists and petroleum engineers in charge of extractive ventures and for international lawyers, consultants and other professionals who are in charge of designing, negotiating and promoting any type of cooperative agreement. The author has drawn on 34 years' experience of the legal, economic and technical aspects of the international petroleum industry, most recently as senior concessions lawyer with Shell Internationale Petroleum Maatschappij in The Hague, The Netherlands, and as part- time professor at the Delft University of Technology.

This highly successful book brings together academic and practising lawyers to consider the key regulatory and contractual dimensions of the mature hydrocarbon province. Now in its second edition, the text has been fully updated. New chapters look at Energy Security, Law and Technology in the Oil Field and Acquisitions and Disposals.

Central Asia has emerged as potentially the most important new hydrocarbon province in decades. Among the countries whose natural resources are now the focus of world attention, Kazakhstan is very much in the front rank. The scale and strategic importance of its reserves mean that it is set to become one of the key players in the global market. Realising that potential depends on many factors, not least its legal treatment of the oil and gas industry. The contributors to this volume consider the various dimensions of that legal treatment, including investment and contractual issues, dispute settlement, transport and refining, environmental issues, and taxation. The importance of the international context for Kazakhstan's domestic law is a key feature of this book, as is a concern with identifying existing problems and suggesting the most fruitful direction for reform. The book will be of interest to practitioners and academics working in the specific field as well as in the more general area of legal relations between the oil and gas industry and transition economies. Ilias Bantekas is Reader in Law at the University of Westminster, London, UK. He has written widely in the field of international law and won the International Committee of the Red Cross Paul Reuter prize in 2000. Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School (2003-04). John Paterson is Reader in Law at the University of Westminster, London, UK. He has written on the regulation of the oil and gas industry and acts as a consultant to the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency. Maidan Suleimenov is Professor of Law at the Kazakh State Academy of Law and Adilet Higher Law School, Almaty, Kazakhstan. He was directly involved in Kazakhstan's accession to the Energy Charter Treaty and has also been responsible for legislative drafting in the field.