This thesis carries out a comparative analysis between the modes of operation adopted in the oil and gas industries of Nigeria and developed countries (with an emphasis on the UK), examining in the process, the existing and persistent problem of pollution which has plagued the Nigerian State and gone virtually unchecked for over five decades, and dealing with the lacunae in the law currently in place in Nigeria. This analysis is carried out to ascertain the possibility of improving environmental protection in Nigeria. A course is charted through the history and development of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, extensively reviewing the environmental legal regime adopted in Nigeria, with particular reference to the oil and gas industry. Issues concerning inadequacy of legislation are addressed as well as the knotty problem of proper enforcement and indeed compliance within the industry. Also addressed is the extent to which flaring is a significant problem in Nigeria, as this is responsible not only for huge amounts of environmental pollution, but also for the loss of a considerable amount of revenue for the Nigerian government and populace. Furthermore, this thesis considers the difficulty the Nigerian judiciary has in maintaining its impartiality and the problems of corruption as well as the judicial approaches to powerful economic actors. Parallels of the Nigerian oil industry are drawn with the exploration and production processes of oil companies operating in the United Kingdom. As a consequence, this work puts forward possible solutions for the adoption of sustainable practices successfully utilised in developed countries which have not been replicated in Nigeria.

Domestic demand for petroleum coupled with rising world oil prices have become burden to the Thai government.  One idea is a legislative solution which requires modifying and updating petroleum law. A condition a petroleum law must meet to maximise state revenue is that the law must provide tools for handling exceptional cases, e.g. production from large and small fields, because the contract pattern contains the general assumption that large fields are profitable.  Sliding scale royalties and income tax, as well as a windfall profit (the Special Remuneratory Benefit) are suited to generating maximum state revenue and are fair to international oil companies upon consideration of the field sizes and frontiers.  But what should the rate be? The proposed fiscal incentive options aim to lower the economic cut-off thereby increasing the cumulative reserves which can be economically produced.  Some provisions of the existing petroleum law and concession contract which should be made for amendment at the first stage are submitted in this thesis. As for Thailand as an oil importing country, factors other than fiscal aspects need to be considered, for example, issue of a maritime area subjected to overlapping claimed by Thailand and its neighbours.  Action should be taken to resolve a state of uncertainty for interested oil companies. The issue of company size is also important as it is involved in marginal fields.  A large oil company would prefer to transfer its right of a marginal field or declining field to another smaller company. Developing a marginal field depends on a mixture of technical, commercial and regulatory issues.  Smaller sized companies appear to have more flexible work arrangements.

This thesis essentially constitutes an analysis of laws designed to protect the marine environment from the pollution arising from the exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves, Chapter 2 addresses not only the origin and nature of oil and gas, but also the techniques employed in surveying for and producing these energy forms. Chapters 3 and 4, in turn, outline the history of offshore operations in South Africa and the UK, respectively, with regard, <i>inter alia</i>, to the location, size and economic significance of these operations. In order to properly address the South African legal framework's failure to adequately regulate pollution arising from offshore upstream operations, an explanation of the nature and forms of such pollution must first be set out. Chapter 5 analyses the concept of pollution from a legal perspective, while also giving detailed consideration to the various forms of pollution that may arise at each of the three stages of offshore oil and gas operations, which are surveying, drilling and production, and decommissioning. Chapter 6 has a dual focus. Firstly, it discusses particular environmental principles that underpin the development and application of environmentally orientated laws. Secondly, it considers various regulatory techniques and their suitability to environmental regulation of the offshore industry. Chapter 7 provides a detailed overview of the international legal framework applicable to offshore oil and gas operations. Chapters 8 and 9 consider the aspects of the UK's and South Africa's domestic legislation that provide for the environmental regulation of offshore oil and gas operations. Both chapters are structured so as to identify enviro-legal considerations relevant to each stage of offshore upstream operations. Both also contain critiques of the manner in which the relevant South African environmental law compares to that of the UK. To this end, legal lacunae and differences in regulatory approaches are identified and various suggestions are made for improving the current South African state of affairs. An argument is submitted for the formulation of a statutory solution to the South African predicament, particularly by means of the promulgation of an entirely new Act specifically designed to regulate the country's rapidly escalating offshore oil and gas industry.

The growth and expansion of Joint Development Agreements, which promote the joint development of common or transboundary petroleum deposits between countries with opposite or adjacent coastlines are an indication that the status of the obligation to jointly develop common or transboundary oil and gas resources as a rule of customary international law may no longer be doubtful. This research examines the origin and evolution of Joint Development (JD) to determine its status in international law, including the law of the sea. It also explores the concept of shared natural resources in international law, intending to determine whether common or transboundary oil and gas resources are a part of the family of shared natural resources. It argues that the rule applicable to other shared natural resources such as international rivers, transboundary fish stocks and transboundary groundwater may be extrapolated and applied to common or transboundary oil and gas resources. It gives a detailed, analytical account of the progressive development of the concept of JD and how the International Law Commission (ILC) failed to take this developing trend to the level of codification when it decided in 2009 to discontinue the topic of oil and gas in its programme of work. The research argues that JD of common or transboundary oil and gas resources should now be considered as a settled norm of customary international law.

No description available.

No description available.

Joint Operating Agreements (JOA) are well accepted standard agreements in the oil and gas industry. The basic aim of any JOA is to regulate the relationship of the parties in the Joint Venture: Operator and Non-Operators. The former is responsible to perform the operations on the behalf of the consortium and the latter is responsible to contribute with regards to the financial commitments and expenses of the Joint Venture. However, Joint Operation Agreements typically do not reflect the Non-Operator's perspective, as they traditionally focus on the strong position retained by the Operator. This reality is very clear as the most critical clauses (namely management of operations, limitation of liabilities and removal of the Operator) strengthen the Operator's position, often to the detriment of the Non-Operators. In consequence, such an unbalanced agreement can cause uncertainly, raises the potential for litigation and might even jeopardize the very existence of the consortium. It is important to note that some parties might still sign such an imbalanced agreement in order to secure investment into a project but they will be subject to these risks, and even ultimately termination of the agreement. However, the decline of production and the lack of new reserves (which together reflect the maturity of an oil and gas area) will lead major companies to leave such region in search for a province with greater rewards. As a matter of consequence, the strongest party of the JOA shall be replaced by smaller companies so as there will be a shift on the JOA context from a dominant position for another in equitable terms. Consequently, there is a need for a new and more balanced approach to the negotiation of Joint Operating Agreements, to apply to new, current operations and mature operations, where the Non-Operator's perspectives are fully considered and properly addressed.

Thesis (M.A.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Title from title screen (viewed on 27 Mar. 2006) "Master of art in arbitration and dispute resolutions." Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis is concerned with the legal management of risk in oil and gas operations upon the United Kingdom Continental Shelf. The work focusses in particular upon geological risk, political risk and the regulatory and commercial risks pertaining to major accidents. Geological risk relates to the fact that generally, oil and gas is concealed within geological formations in the deep underground. Exploration activity is, as a result, both difficult and expensive. The thesis considers the extent to which the UK's chosen licensing system has struck an appropriate balance on who should bear the risk of failure of such operations. Political risk involves (on the one hand) the risks faced by investors in interacting with the state and (on the other) the risks faced by the state when designing its regulatory system. Investors are in a precarious position due to the high level of capital investment and long-term nature of oil and gas operations: they are therefore concerned to ensure stability and autonomy of operation. The state, on the other hand, is concerned that it is not taken advantage of by the (usually more knowledgeable) industry player when designing its regulatory system. The risk of major accident is reflected both in regulation of health, safety and the environment and in the contractual arrangements entered into by commercial entities in order to determine which party should bear ultimate liability in the event that an accident causes wide-spread loss. Having regard to the example of the law applied on the UK continental shelf, the thesis demonstrates that while risk can never be wholly removed from oil and gas operations, the law can be effectively used to mitigate risk and thereafter to facilitate he appropriate distribution of such residual levels of risk as remain.

This thesis establishes the link between law, democratic governance and the institutional capacity needed for maximum control of hydrocarbon resources by the producer state, with the emphasis particularly on Ghana. The discoveries of hydrocarbon resources under the territorial waters and continental shelf of Ghana has set in motion a review of the pre-existing petroleum legislative framework in the country. The review is aimed at meeting the challenges of the nascent oil and gas industry taking into account modern trends adopted in the management of these resources. Prior to the discoveries, the national oil company, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) performed the role of commercial participation as well as monitoring and regulation of the industry on behalf of the Ministry of Energy. The GNPC also performed policy advisory functions. The position of the GNPC then could aptly be described as a classic case of conflict of interest. The enactment of the Petroleum Commission Act of Ghana, 2011 (Act 821) has, however, redefined the role of GNPC, as the upstream regulatory role is now performed by the Petroleum Commission in conjunction with allied agencies leaving the national oil company to concentrate on commercial activities. The central goal of the thesis is to analyse the extent to which the present regulatory regime related to the present Petroleum Commission Act suffers from the conflict of interest it was actually designed to resolve and to examine the means available to tackle these conflict of interest challenges drawing lessons where appropriate from mature hydrocarbon producing countries such as Norway, the UK and the USA. It is recognised in this thesis that no state can effectively develop its hydrocarbon resources unless it operates a democratic system of governance that promotes the rule of law, checks and balances, and independence of state institutions. It is, therefore, concluded in this thesis that the reformation of the Petroleum Commission itself in terms of the enabling Act and the internal culture and vii innovations within the Commission holds the key to the insulation of the Commission against conflict of interest risks. It is also concluded that constitutional amendments and statutory interventions that touch on Ghana's democratic governance framework with the aim of strengthening the Commission as an independent public agency are ways of tackling the conflict of interest challenges affecting the Commission. Consequently, proposals are made for reform.