1 / 9

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF TRANSBORDER OIL & GAS OPERATIONS IN AFRICA

NOT AN OFFICIAL UNCTAD RECORD. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF TRANSBORDER OIL & GAS OPERATIONS IN AFRICA. Bertrand Montembault Avocat au Barreau de Paris. 8th Africa Oil & Gas, Trade and Finance Conference and Exhibition Marrakech – 26-30 April 2004.

maina
Download Presentation

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF TRANSBORDER OIL & GAS OPERATIONS IN AFRICA

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. NOT AN OFFICIAL UNCTAD RECORD LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF TRANSBORDER OIL & GAS OPERATIONS IN AFRICA Bertrand Montembault Avocat au Barreau de Paris 8th Africa Oil & Gas, Trade and Finance Conference and Exhibition Marrakech – 26-30 April 2004

  2. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF TRANSBORDER OIL & GAS OPERATIONS IN AFRICA OVERVIEW OF TRANSBORDER OIL & GAS OPERATIONS IN AFRICA • Transport: transborder pipelines • Transborder pipeline without transit country • Chad-Cameroon pipeline / 8 February 1996 (oil) • Transborder pipeline with transit country • Algeria-Tunisia-Italy – “Transmed” / 19 and 21 October 1973 (gas) • Algeria-Morocco-Spain-Portugal - “Maghreb – Europe Gas” / 16 November 1996 (gas) • Nigeria-Benin-Togo-Ghana - “WGAP” / 31 January 2003 (gas)

  3. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF TRANSBORDER OIL & GAS OPERATIONS IN AFRICA OVERVIEW OF TRANSBORDER OIL & GAS OPERATIONS IN AFRICA • Joint development of offshore oil & gas (boundary claims) • Libya – Tunisia Joint Oil Company (1988) • Senegal - Guinea-Bissau Management and Cooperation Agency (1993) • Nigeria and Sao Tome Joint Development Authority (2001) • Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea Joint Development, Transport and Marketing Agreement (2002)

  4. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF TRANSBORDER OIL & GAS OPERATIONS IN AFRICA • A FUNDAMENTAL KEY ISSUE: PROJECT UNIT V. TWO OR MORE STATES’ SOVEREIGNTIES • OTHER KEY ISSUES

  5. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF TRANSBORDER OIL & GAS OPERATIONS IN AFRICA • A FUNDAMENTAL KEY ISSUE: PROJECT UNIT V. TWO OR MORE STATES’ SOVEREIGNTIES 1. International law background of transborder oil & gas projects 1.1 Nature of international law “hard” law v. soft law  conventional law v. customary law  status of international law under domestic legislation 1.2 Scope of existing international law of specific character: law of the sea ∗offshore transboundary deposits ∗submarine pipeline  of a general nature: international trade law (freedom of transit, non- discrimination, etc.)

  6. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF TRANSBORDER OIL & GAS OPERATIONS IN AFRICA • A FUNDAMENTAL KEY ISSUE: PROJECT UNIT V. TWO OR MORE STATES’ SOVEREIGNTIES 2. Requirement of specific international law arrangements 2.1 Institutional approach  creation of an international joint entity with legal personality in each State  reduction of State’s sovereignty depends on: ∗existence of boundary claim ∗powers vested in the entity: • licensing powers •regulatory powers •coordination role

  7. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF TRANSBORDER OIL & GAS OPERATIONS IN AFRICA • A FUNDAMENTAL KEY ISSUE: PROJECT UNIT V. TWO OR MORE STATES’ SOVEREIGNTIES 2.2 Coordination approach  transborder pipelines ∗harmonisation of relevant domestic legislation ∗inter-governmental body ∗importance of project agreements  joint development areas: ∗compulsory joint ventures between States and NOCs

  8. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF TRANSBORDER OIL & GAS OPERATIONS IN AFRICA • THE OTHER KEY ISSUES: • Key issues common to joint development areas and pipelines • Ownership • Technical standards (including environmental standards) • Financing: security package ∗ security over assets ∗ security over cash flows • Stabilisation (stability – hardship – force majeure) • Dispute settlement

  9. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF TRANSBORDER OIL & GAS OPERATIONS IN AFRICA • THE OTHER KEY ISSUES: • Key issues specific to pipelines • Capacity allocation and right of access • Transit (importance of offtake contracts: ToP/SoP)

More Related