Legal Safeguards in Egypt's Petroleum Concession Agreements

Author: Khatchadourian, Minas

Source: Arab Law Quarterly, Volume 22, Number 4, 2008 , pp. 387-396(10)

Publisher: BRILL

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Abstract:

This article deals with the concession contracts for the exploration and the production of oil and gas in Egypt. Such tripartite contracts are concluded between the Government of Egypt (GOE) as the host country, a National Oil Company (NOC) as the concession holder and an international oil company (IOC) as the foreign contractor who receives a part of the oil or gas production on a production sharing agreement (PSA). From an Egyptian legal perspective, this contract is qualified as a State contract which is supposed to give the Government some exorbitant powers towards its counterparts. However, in order to attract foreign investors into this kind of agreement and encourage international oil companies to explore natural resources, several legal safeguards are incorporated in the concession agreement. Examples of this include placing the contract in the framework of a legislative act, granting the contract a supremacy on any contrary legislation, stabilization clause, adaptation of the contract through renegotiation, arbitration clause, etc.

Keywords: EGYPT; OIL AND GAS CONCESSIONS; LEGISLATIVE ACT; STABILIZATION CLAUSE; ADAPTATION; ARBITRATION

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157302508X374410

Affiliations: 1: Professor of Law, Alexandria University, Egypt, Visiting Professor, Ein-Shams University, Egypt, Legal Consultant and Arbitrator;, Email: khatchadourian@justice.com

Publication date: 2008-11-01