Description
Book SynopsisThis innovative book explores the legal character of petroleum licences, a key vehicle governing the relationship between oil companies and their host states. Examining the issue through the lens of legal culture, it illustrates why some jurisdictions exert strong state control and others only minimal.
Critically investigating the nature of a petroleum licence, the book analyses whether it is a mere administrative right, a contract or something more akin to property rights. Chapters examine recent developments, such as the UK's strategy of maximizing economic recovery and the opposition to drilling for oil in Norway and Australia. Outside of Western petroleum jurisdictions, the book also explores several long-established jurisdictions including Russia and Mexico, as well as emerging jurisdictions, such as China and Uganda. Taking a contextual and system-oriented approach, it reveals the preconditions of the petroleum licence regime and offers a critical insight into the reasons behind alterations to the terms of the licences.
Encompassing a wide variety of legal cultures and experiences, this thought-provoking book will prove to be a valuable resource for academics and students of energy law, particularly those with an interest in state regulation. It will also provide useful insights for industry-based practitioners.
Table of ContentsContents: Acknowledgements viii 1 Introduction 1 Jørn Øyrehagen Sunde and Tina Soliman Hunter 2 Characterisation of Australia’s petroleum licences: property capable of acquisition on ‘just terms’? 16 Tina Soliman Hunter 3 The legal character of petroleum licences in the United States of America 51 John Lowe 4 The legal character of petroleum licences in Canada 72 Nigel Bankes 5 The legal character of petroleum licences in Uganda 95 Emmanuel Kasimbazi 6 Petroleum licences – a legal culture perspective: the United Kingdom 119 Greg Gordon and John Paterson 7 Oil and gas licences – a legal nature perspective: the Netherlands 139 Martha Roggenkamp 8 Legal character of petroleum licences under Norwegian law 159 Ernst Nordtveit 9 Russia: legal culture and character of Russian petroleum licences 186 Irina Fodchenko 10 The Mexican petroleum licence of 2013 207 Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez 11 The legal character of petroleum licences in the People’s Republic of China 234 Yong Li 12 Afterword: Licence rights – what’s left? 253 Terence Daintith Index
