Oil and gas
Our team of skilled lawyers provides comprehensive legal services to clients involved in every aspect of the global oil and gas value chain. From upstream exploration and production, through midstream transportation and storage, to downstream refining and marketing, we deliver commercial and solution-oriented advice.
Our lawyers possess extensive industry experience, providing unique insight into the needs of different players in the oil and gas sector. We work collaboratively on complex and multi-jurisdictional projects, transactions, and disputes, enabling our clients to achieve their commercial objectives.
Our clients are diverse and include international oil and gas companies, exploration and production firms, offshore service providers, storage and distribution companies, commercial and multilateral lenders, private equity firms, and government entities.
In situations where complex offshore/floating assets such as MODUs (Mobile Offshore Drilling Units), FPSOs (Floating Production Storage and Offloading units), FSRUs (Floating Storage Regasification Units), and FLNGs (Floating Liquefied Natural Gas units) are involved, we leverage our firm's renowned maritime practice to support our clients' activities.
As the world's leading oil and gas exploration, development, and production companies continue to navigate the transition to more renewable energy production, we recognise the importance of investing time in understanding the implications of this. Our lawyers assist our clients with various issues related to energy transition and other macro trends, including new business models, electrification of the foundation, and digitisation of the business, aiding our clients to stay profitable, attractive to investors, and maintain their "license to operate".
Expertise
Typical examples of cases we work on are:
- Regulatory framework for the oil and gas industry, including licensing, local content and business ethics
- Legal issues related to cooperation between JV participants
- Unitisation agreements
- Tie-in agreements
- Transactions, including the purchase and sale of licence shares, infrastructure, companies and assets including rigs, vessels and fleets
- Financing of petroleum activities, including project and asset finance transactions
- Development projects, including FLNG, FSRU, FPSO projects
- Oil and gas services including drilling contracts and offshore charters
- Shipping of gas and tariffs for gas exports
- Gas sale and purchase agreements
- Price regulation under long-term gas sales agreements and dispute resolution (international arbitration)
- Agreements for the construction, conversion and upgrade of vessels and drilling units, including high-specification jack-ups, semi-submersibles and drillships
- Abandonment, decommissioning, demolition and recycling of offshore assets
Read our articles on Oil and Gas
Wikborg Rein plays key role in development of operationally complex German LNG terminal
The London team advised Deutsche ReGas, the operator of Germany's Deutsche Ostsee LNG Terminal in Lubmin, on all marine related aspects of the Terminal, including the charters of an FSRU, FSU and three shuttle tankers. The Project was officially launched earlier this year, having obtained all of the required permits and achieving first gas into the grid.
The hydrogen puzzle – EU regulatory initiatives in the pipeline
Following the adoption of the EU Hydrogen Strategy and the EU Energy System Integration Strategy in July 2020, the European Commission has worked on various regulatory initiatives, as announced in the respective strategies, to facilitate the development of a well-functioning hydrogen market.
Hydrogen sales and purchase contracts – high-value issues to keep in mind
With its ample hydropower, developing wind power, and gas reserves, Norway is particularly well placed to produce both green hydrogen and blue hydrogen. Although the potential is obvious and there is a clear will to develop it further, the hydrogen industry is still in early stages. At present, relatively few supply contracts have been entered into and few clear market principles have developed. As such, the hydrogen industry faces similar questions in respect of the contractual regulation as the natural gas industry faced in its early phase.
