The United Kingdom Continental Shelf is now routinely described as mature. It is no longer a new frontier of oil and gas exploration, with the steep climb up the production profile ahead of it and the principal question being how high that profile will rise. Rather, it is an established hydrocarbon province on the downward slope of the production profile, with the main question being how steep that decline will be.Insofar as this is the case, a new book on the subject of the law affecting oil and gas operations on the UKCS may appear to be rather late in joining the game. On the contrary, however, it is the very fact that the UKCS is now a mature province that provides the rationale for this book: maturity brings with it new problems and challenges and can present existing problems and challenges in a new light.But maturity also has a much more positive aspect: the accumulation of years also brings with it the accumulation of experience. Industry and government (and their respective lawyers) have learned a great deal in the 40 or so years of hydrocarbon operations on the UKCS. Mistakes have been made along the way and lessons have sometimes been learned the hard way.
But the legal and regulatory framework that is now in place on the UKCS an justifiably claim to be one of the most advanced anywhere in the world.This book brings together academic and practising lawyers, all based in Aberdeen, Europe's Energy Capital, to consider the key regulatory and contractual dimensions of the mature hydrocarbon province.Editors:Greg Gordon, Lecturer in Law, University of AberdeenJohn Paterson, Reader in Law, University of AberdeenEmre ÜÅYenmez, Lecturer in Law, University of AberdeenTable of Contents:Introduction and Context1. Oil and Gas Law on the UK Continental Shelf: Current Practice and Emerging Trends2. Evolving Economic Issues in the Maturing UKCS3. The UK's Energy SecurityLicensing and Regulation4. Petroleum Licensing5. Mature Province Initiatives6.
The UKCS Fiscal Regime7. Access to Infrastructure8. Health and Safety at Work Offshore9. Environmental Law and Regulation on the UKCS10. Decommissioning of Offshore Oil and Gas Installations11. Competition Law and the Upstream Oil and Gas BusinessContracting and Commercial Issues12. Joint Operating Agreements13. Unitisation14.
Risk Allocation in Oil and Gas Contracts15. Law and Technology in the Oilfield16. Acquisitions and Disposals of Upstream Oil and Gas Interests17. Aspects of Land Law Relative to the Transportation of Oil and Gas in Scotland18. Dispute Management and Resolution[DUP logo]Cover design: Various Creative.