Natural Gas Development: Contract & Legal Consideration

What are the Goals?

At the end of this Natural Gas Development training course, the participants will learn to:

• Formation of relevant contracts, remedies, and terminations
• Key industry players and the commercial realities of the business, including contractual parameters
• A practitioner’s insight into common contractual pitfalls in key gas contracts
• Negotiate gas contracts profitably, with a clear understanding of insurance provisions, liability, and indemnity clauses
• Enhance the ability to draft and negotiate force majeure clauses
• Draft and apply effective dispute resolution clause in gas contracts

Who is this Training Course for?

This Natural Gas Development training course is suitable for a wide range of professionals but will greatly benefit:     

• Senior and Middle-Level Commercial Managers
• Commercial Lawyers
• Risk Managers
• Energy Purchasing Managers
• Strategy Managers
• Pipeline Marketing Managers
• Operations Managers
• Project Managers
• Senior Government Officials and Regulators

Daily Agenda

Day One: Dynamics of Gas Business and English Contracts

• Introduction to Gas (Petroleum) Contracts
• Key Terms and Definitions
• Downstream
• Midstream
• Upstream
• General principles of oil and gas contract law
• Key players in the international oil and gas industry
• Understanding Contracts
• Contracts Formation & Interpretation of Contract Terms
• Contracts Workshop

Day Two: Contracting and Commercial Realities of the Gas Business 

• Remedies for Breach of Contract
• Contract termination internationally and in English law
• Principal standard form contracts used in the industry
• LOGIC / CRINE
• BIMCO
• AIEN
• The key legal contractual risk management issues
• Contracts for downstream activities
• The Contractual Process
• Commercial Realities of Gas Contracts
• Drafts and Drafting Tips
• LNG Sales Contracts

Day Three: Essentials of Negotiating Gas Contracts

• Enforcement of Gas Contracts  
• Fundamental Legal Principles of Gas Contracts
• Cultural and Language Issues
• Global gas market
• Structuring an LNG Project and Government Role
• Capacity Building and Local Content
• LNG Development Environment
• PSC v. Licenses
• Workshop: How to negotiate petroleum contracts profitably?

Day Four: Gas Sales and Purchase Agreements: Liabilities and Legal Principles

• Domestic Gas Sales Agreement
• LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement
• Risk Management and LNG Business: Types of Risks and Steps to Mitigate?
• Transportation and Processing Agreement (TPA)
• International Practices and Model Contracts
• Liability Clauses
• Contractual Indemnity
• Insurance Provisions
• Force Majeure in Gas Sales Contracts
• Termination and Tax

Day Five: Dispute Resolutions of Gas Contracts

• Tiered Dispute Resolution Mechanisms
• Formal Dispute Resolution in Gas Contracts
• Preventing costly litigation through effective use of ADR option
• Types of dispute resolution vehicles
• Assessing Litigation vs. Arbitration Options
• Mediation Considerations
• Considerations for selecting effective mediators and Arbitrators
• Selecting arbitration and mediation rules of procedure
• Drafting effective dispute resolution clause
• Contract Review, Evaluation, and Lesson Learned
• Overview and Conclusion