Order Description

Write a research essay based on one of the following policies:

1. “The objectives of States and IOC in relation to oil and gas transactions are irreconcilable,
accounting for the tensions and suspicions between them and the need for a variety of
legal techniques to adequately secure their respective interests”. Critically discuss this
statement.

2. “Bidding is the predominant method that most resource rich states use to grant a
permission to explore for, develop and produce oil and gas; but it is not the most suitable
or effective means for securing maximum output for the states.” Critically discuss this
statement.

3. Critically examine the petroleum law and policy of a country of your choice and
determine the extent to which the licence system or the contract regime could be suitable
to your client for the conduct of petroleum operations in the country.

4. Local content and participation rules are commonly been applied for addressing domestic
development needs in petroleum and mineral rich countries. Critically evaluate a local
content regime of your preferred country and assess its suitability as a development tool.

5. Account for the categories of risks that are prevalent in the oil and gas business and
critically analyse the legal tools that could ameliorate or cushion each given risk that you
examine.

6. “The emergence of innovative contractual arrangements in the development of oil and gas
resources seeks to accommodate and promote political and economic imperatives. They
facilitate State participation and control over petroleum operations through production
sharing arrangements or joint ventures that set up state petroleum enterprises and
contractual devices that tend to limit the private company’s control and management
powers”.
Drawing from examples of specific developing countries’ oil regimes,
critically discuss the extent to which this observation reflects the current
practice of joint venture arrangements in petroleum development in the given
state.

7. Critically discuss the proposition that the use of ‘stabilization clauses’ in energy contracts
are the most effective device to secure an investment against confiscatory taking and
other state’s regulatory powers.