Petroleum Contracts: English Law and Practice

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 work analyses the application of English law to contracts for project investment, financing, and development. 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. This book covers the essential operational detail practitioners and parties need, as well as advising on the implications of English law on the interpretation of relevant provisions. 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.

Table of Contents:
1: Introductory Principles 1: Principles of English Law and Petroleum Contracting 2: Contract Formation 3: Joint Ventures 4: Third Party Involvement 5: Trusts and Fiduciary Duties 6: Commodity Contracting 2: Operational Principles 7: Finance and Security 8: Impossibility of Performance 9: Breach of Contract 10: Termination 11: Liability Allocation 3: Administrative Principles 12: Transfers of Interest 13: Law and Jurisdiction 14: Miscellaneous

About the Author :
Peter Roberts is a partner with Ashurst LLP based in London, with a particular focus upstream and midstream oil and gas project development, financing and M&A. He has advised clients across a wide range of jurisdictions, including Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America. He is a past chairman of the International Bar Association (IBA)'s oil and gas law committee, a past general editor of the "International Energy Law Review" (IELR), and is presently the general editor of the "Journal of World Energy Law and Business" (JWELB), published by the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN) and the Oxford University Press. Prior to joining Ashurst, Peter was the General Counsel for Centrica Energy, in London, and has previously worked for other leading law firms in London, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Review :
A novel, pioneering and perhaps heroic effort by Peter Roberts, a leading English practitioner, to explain how English law applies to the genre of contracts that typically govern the modern petroleum industry. Robert Pritchard, International Energy Law Review This book is an absolute necessity for anyone entering the world of contract analysis, design, or negotiations regardless of whether or not they are based on English law. I wish I had had access to such concise and clearly written explanations of this important subject when I started in this business ... This book should be required reading and certainly should hold a place of honour in the libraries of those engaged in this work. Daniel Johnston, The Journal of World Energy Law and Business Peter Roberts has created the ultimate guide to what English Law says about the essential provisions of the numerous contracts worldwide that are based on English Law ... For a clear understanding, a solid source of reference and clearly articulated insight, this book provides the bedrock foundation for English Law-based contracts ... I believe this book is an absolute necessity for anyone entering the world of contract analysis, design, or negotiations regardless of whether or not they are based on English Law. I just wish I had had access to such concise, and clearly written explanations of this important subject when I started in this business 35 years ago. This book should be required reading and certainly should hold a place of honor in the libraries of those engaged in this work. Daniel Johnston, Daniel Johnston & Co., Inc.