La joint-venture est une technique juridique étroitement liée au secteur amont de l’industrie pétro-gazière internationale. Pratiquement, elle correspond dans ce domaine à des architectures contractuelles très diversifiées basées sur des ingénieries juridiques différentes. Depuis sa création dans l’industrie pétro-gazière américaine, la technique de la joint-venture, par sa grande adaptabilité congénitale, a généré différentes versions servant les relations juridiques entre les acteurs internationaux dans ce domaine. La structure juridique de chacune de ses variantes a une particularité qui lui est propre. Elle est formée selon les stratégies, les objectifs, les besoins, les expériences, les limites techniques et les moyens financiers et managériaux des participants. Dans ce contexte, l’étude sur le rôle de cette technique dans les relations juridiques entre deux principaux acteurs pétro-gaziers dans la seconde moitié du 20ème siècle est très importante. En effet, dès son entrée dans les relations juridiques entre les pays producteurs de pétrole et de gaz naturel et les sociétés pétro-gazières internationales, la technique de « joint-venture participation » est progressivement devenue la stratégie principale du secteur amont de l’industrie pétro-gazière des pays producteurs. En d'autres termes, quel que soit la structure contractuelle principale de l’État-hôte au secteur amont du pétrole et du gaz, lorsque lui, ou l’un de ses membres, participe conjointement,avec une société pétro-gazière internationale, à des projets d’exploration et de développement, le recours à la technique juridique de la joint-venture est indispensable.L’impact de telle participation sur la joint-venture est considérable. La présence d’un participant doté de prérogatives de la puissance publique au sein d’une joint-venture pétrogazière affecte l’équilibre paritaire entre les participants, et en conséquence influence sa structure juridique, son processus de formation et son fonctionnement. / The joint venture is a legal technic closely related to the international upstream oil and gasindustry. Practically, it corresponds to very diversified contractual architectures based ondifferent legal engineering. Since its creation in the USA oil and gas industry, the technic ofjoint venture with its great congenital adaptability has generated various versions assistingthe legal relationship of international players in this field. Legal structure of each of itsvariants has its particularities formed according to the strategies, objectives, needs,experiences, means and technical, financial and managerial limits surrounded participants. Inthis context, the study of the role of this technic in the contractual framework between twooil and gas main players in the second half of the 20th century is very important. Indeed, uponit enters in the legal relationship between oil and gas producers countries and international oiland gas companies, the technic of "participating joint venture" has gradually become a keystrategy of producers countries in their upstream oil and gas sector. In other words,regardless of the principal contractual structure of the host-state in upstream oil and gassector, where it or its dismemberment participates with an international oil and gas companyin exploration and development projects, the use of legal technic of the joint venture isindispensable. The impact of such participation on the joint venture is considerable. Thepresence of a participant with public powers within a petroleum joint venture affect the paritybalance among participants and therefore influence its legal structure, and the process of itsformation and its functioning.

This thesis explores the manner in which the conflict in the oil-rich Niger Delta in Nigeria is represented in western Anglophone media. Large oil reserves in the Niger Delta have contributed millions of dollars towards the growth of Nigeria's export economy. Despite this, the Niger Delta is the least developed region in the country and is characterised by high rates of inequality. Residents of the Niger Delta have been outraged by the lack of action on the part of the Nigerian government and multinational oil corporations. Their discontent over the inequalities in the region has resulted in the proliferation of armed groups and militants who often use violent and criminal tactics to communicate their disgruntlement. This thesis closely examines the representations of the violent insurgency in the Niger Delta by conducting a Critical Discourse Analysis of 145 news texts selected from four western Anglophone newspapers from 2007 to 2011. The depiction of the conflict as it appears in the four newspapers is discussed in relation to an overview of scholarly literature which explores the portrayal of Africa not only in western media, but also in other forms of western scholarship and writing. The research undertaken in this study reveals that to a significant extent representations of the Niger Delta conflict echo and reflect some of the stereotypical and age-old negative imagery that informs meanings constructed about the African continent. However, the analysis of the news texts also shows that there are certainly efforts amongst some newspapers to move beyond simplistic representations of the conflict. The disadvantage however, is that these notable attempts tend to be marred by the use of pejorative language which typically invokes negative images associated with Africa. This study argues that the implications of these representations are highly significant as these representations not only affect the way in which the conflict is understood, but also the manner in which the international community responds to it.

Conventional sources of emissions have been a prime target for policymakers in designing pollution control strategies. However, the evolution of shale gas activities is a growing concern over the impact of unconventional sources on urban and regional air quality. Owing to the development of Barnett Shale production, the fast-growing Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex has encountered both types of these emissions. Oil and gas activities result in emissions of ozone precursors, notably volatile organic compounds (VOC). The major objective of this study was to evaluate the spatio-temporal distribution of VOC in order to highlight the influence of unconventional emissions. The study utilized measurements from automated gas chromatography (AutoGC) monitors to analyze the patterns of the total non-methane organic compounds (TNMOC) and relative contributions from marker species of traffic versus oil and gas activities. In this study, data from 2001-2014 was obtained from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for fifteen monitoring sites within the North Texas region. With over a thousand wells in a 10 mile radius, two of the rural sites measured twice as much TNMOC as compared to the urban site in Dallas. Source apportionment analysis was conducted using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) technique. The target site located in the urban zone resolved an eight factor model. Natural gas signature was the dominant source of emission with a 52% contribution followed by 31% from two separate traffic-related sources. Considering ethane to be the dominant species in oil and gas emissions, it was observed that the rising ethane/NOx ratio correlated with increasing annual average ozone post-2007. In this period, higher concentration of ozone was found to be associated with stronger winds from the Barnett Shale area – a region that did not seem to contribute to high ozone during 2001-2007. With traffic emissions having flattened over the years, the recent increase in oil- and gas-related emissions has a negative impact on the air quality in this area. Results indicate that the area has failed to observe a declining trend in ozone despite effective reductions in NOx and traffic-related VOC emissions. The findings of the study would be helpful in proper evaluation of the ozone-forming potential of unconventional VOC emissions. Although these emissions may not be strong enough to cause harm through direct exposure, underestimating their potential towards ozone formation could hinder the progress in ozone attainment in growing urban areas. After all, a major portion of the study area continues to be in nonattainment of the EPA designated ozone standards. The study therefore draws the attention of policymakers towards the new influx of emissions that have emerged as a powerful source within the DFW metropolitan area.

Security measures need to be put in place in order to deal with any security weaknesses that might occur or be observed. Care should be taken when addressing any crime or loss problem in any organisation, in this research study more specifically: petrol stations. It is clear that because of their diverse locations petrol stations have different levels of risks, e.g. low, medium and/or high risks. The study explored many issues including, among the others: security measures; petrol stations’ busiest times; vulnerable assets at petrol stations. / Criminology / M. Tech. (Security Management)

Security measures need to be put in place in order to deal with any security weaknesses that might occur or be observed. Care should be taken when addressing any crime or loss problem in any organisation, in this research study more specifically: petrol stations. It is clear that because of their diverse locations petrol stations have different levels of risks, e.g. low, medium and/or high risks. The study explored many issues including, among the others: security measures; petrol stations’ busiest times; vulnerable assets at petrol stations. / Criminology and Security Science / M. Tech. (Security Management)