You are here:

• home
• sectors
• energy
• oil, gas, lng

Challenges facing the oil and gas industries

The oil and gas industries have always been surrounded by complicated legal issues. The sheer scope of the construction projects, the ever present danger of pollution incidents, the politics of who owns what resources, the need for effective sales and purchase agreements, the arrangements for transporting fuel: these issues require specialist legal advice.

In recent years the situation has become even more complex with supply shortages, new technologies and a move towards cleaner fuel amongst the factors creating fresh challenges.

The boom in LNG, for example, has resulted in a huge investment in shipping and infrastructure. But this has also created problems in terms of safety issues and potential crewing shortages. Fluctuating gas prices around the world have resulted in cargoes being diverted mid-journey to more profitable countries. Whilst this is common practice in the oil business, contractual arrangements in gas have yet to catch up.

Dwindling energy resources mean that countries are looking further afield for their supplies. New projects are therefore taking on an even greater international flavour than before. And with multiple jurisdictions comes complication, requiring advisers who can work across boundaries.

How we can help

The Eversheds Oil and Gas team is based across our international network of offices and associated offices, ensuring we have people available on the ground wherever our clients are operating.

Our experience is genuinely international, including recent projects in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Our clients in these regions include; major integrated oil companies, pure E & P companies, service companies, Governments and NOCs.

Our advice covers upstream exploration, development and production, LNG projects, gas pipelines, as well as refining, trading and distribution downstream.

We have also assisted in drafting petroleum laws and drafting and negotiating upstream agreements, and in major litigation and arbitration, including some of the most significant upstream disputes in recent years. In addition, we have assisted NOCs in major restructuring operations, developing offshore investment and trading arms, and in expanding beyond the local market.

The Oil and Gas team is strengthened by our market-leading public international law practice, and we have advised on many international law issues affecting upstream investment, including boundary delimitation issues, JDZs and environmental and related international obligations.

We also have particular experience in investment protection strategies, which is ever more important in a world of increasing oil prices and a new "resource nationalism".

The team further benefits from Eversheds' specialist knowledge in both North and sub-Saharan Africa. We have a dedicated Africa group and have worked on a significant number of projects throughout Africa in recent years. The Africa group has published a leading textbook on the business laws applicable in the majority of the French-speaking countries in Africa, as well as a book on investment in Libya.

Our main services include:

• upstream
• infrastructure/midstream and downstream
• Public International Law
• international dispute resolution
• shipping
• international projects/project finance
• regulatory/health and safety and compliance
• EU competition law
• emissions trading