Oil and Gas Contracts Advanced Training Course – Rome, 24 May – 4 Jun 2027

Oil and Gas Contracts is a 2-week advanced training course for contract managers, legal advisers and commercial staff in oil and gas companies, and each participant completes a contract risk review of one live or model agreement. Disputes over cost overruns, decommissioning liabilities and changed host terms now consume management time and cash, so the wording of indemnities, caps and termination rights decides who pays. Jupiter Prime Training runs Oil and Gas Contracts for operators, partners and contractors alike.

Why Oil and Gas Contracts Matter Now

Three trends sharpen contract risk across the industry: contractors pushing back on unlimited liability after loss-making projects, host governments revisiting fiscal and local content terms during the life of an agreement, and decommissioning obligations moving from distant footnotes to balance-sheet items. A company that signs familiar templates without reading the allocation of risk inherits claims, uninsurable exposure and stalled projects; one that negotiates deliberately keeps projects moving and relationships intact. The course connects contract clauses to the reserves and resource classes of the Petroleum Resources Management System (PRMS) where entitlement depends on them, and to equipment specifications drawn from American Petroleum Institute (API) standards.

Who Gains Most from Oil and Gas Contracts

• Contract managers who prepare tenders, negotiate terms and administer agreements through to close-out
• In-house legal advisers who review drafts and manage disputes on petroleum agreements
• Commercial and business development staff who structure host government and partner deals
• Project managers who live with engineering, procurement and construction contract terms daily
• Procurement leads who select contract strategies for drilling, services and supply

A contracts and legal department that sends its negotiators and project-facing contract holders together gains most, because drafting choices and field realities finally meet in one room.

Oil and Gas Contracts Capabilities

Participants learn to read an agreement clause by clause for who carries which risk, how it is priced and what happens when events go wrong.

• Compare concession, production sharing and service agreement structures — negotiation stance with host governments
• Assess joint operating agreement clauses on voting, sole risk and default — partner relationships
• Specify scope, payment and change mechanisms in engineering, procurement and construction contracts — project delivery
• Weigh knock-for-knock indemnities, liability caps and insurance — risk and insurance managers
• Apply claim, variation and termination procedures — contract administrators and project leaders
• Build a dispute resolution strategy from negotiation to arbitration — legal and executive decision-makers

Key Oil and Gas Contracts Terms

• Knock-for-knock indemnity — a mutual clause where each party bears injury and property loss for its own people and equipment regardless of fault.
• Consequential loss exclusion — a clause removing liability for indirect losses such as lost production or profit.
• Liquidated damages — a pre-agreed sum payable for a defined breach, commonly late completion, instead of proving actual loss.
• Force majeure — an event beyond a party's control that suspends obligations for its duration under the agreed conditions.
• Stabilisation clause — a provision protecting the investor's economic position against later changes in host law or fiscal terms.
• Sole risk operation — work carried out by some partners alone after others decline, with penalties if non-participants later join.

Oil and Gas Contracts Day by Day

Day 1: The Contract Landscape of the Industry

• Contract Chain From Licence to Supply Agreement — How Risk Flows Down
• Upstream, Midstream and Downstream Contract Types — Matching Form to Activity
• Industry Model Forms and Bespoke Drafting — When to Depart From Templates
• Governing Law and Jurisdiction Choices — Predictability for Cross-Border Deals
• Contract Lifecycle Map — Tender, Award, Administration and Close-Out

Day 2: Concessions and Licences

• Concession Rights and Obligations — Exploration Periods and Work Commitments
• Relinquishment and Extension Clauses — Keeping Acreage Through Delays
• Royalty and Tax Provisions — Contract Language That Drives Cash
• Stabilisation and Change of Law Clauses — Defending Investment Value
• Local Content and Training Obligations — Drafting Achievable Commitments

Day 3: Production Sharing and Service Agreements

• Production Sharing Contract Architecture — Cost Recovery and Profit Split Clauses
• Entitlement and Lifting Rights — Linking Volumes to PRMS Categories
• Risk Service and Technical Service Agreements — Fee and Bonus Mechanisms
• Audit and Cost Allowability Provisions — Avoiding Disallowed Expenditure
• Decommissioning Funding Clauses — Securing Future Abandonment Costs

Day 4: Joint Operating Agreements

• Operator Appointment and Removal — Duties, Standard of Care and Liability
• Operating Committee Voting Thresholds — Blocking Rights and Deadlock
• Sole Risk and Non-Consent Provisions — Penalties and Buy-Back Terms
• Default and Forfeiture Clauses — Remedies Against Non-Paying Partners
• Assignment and Pre-Emption Rights — Controlling Changes in Partnership

Day 5: Engineering, Procurement and Construction Contracts

• Lump Sum, Reimbursable and Hybrid Pricing — Choosing by Scope Maturity
• Scope Definition and Interface Clauses — Avoiding Gaps Between Packages
• Performance Guarantees and Testing — Proving Plant Capacity and Quality
• Liquidated Damages for Delay and Performance — Setting Fair Rates
• Defects Liability and Warranties — Post-Handover Protection

Day 6: Drilling and Service Contracts

• Drilling Rig Contracts — Day Rates, Standby and Moving Rates
• Well Services and Wireline Agreements — Call-Off and Frame Contracts
• Supply and Logistics Contracts — Vessels, Helicopters and Materials
• Key Performance Indicators in Service Contracts — Incentives and Penalties
• Health, Safety and Environmental Clauses — Contractor Responsibilities on Site

Day 7: Risk Allocation, Indemnities and Insurance

• Knock-for-Knock Indemnity Regimes — People, Property and Third Parties
• Pollution and Well Control Liabilities — Allocating Catastrophic Risk
• Liability Caps and Consequential Loss Exclusions — Limiting Exposure
• Insurance Requirements and Waivers of Subrogation — Backing Indemnities
• Gross Negligence and Wilful Misconduct Carve-Outs — Limits of Protection

Day 8: Contract Administration, Changes and Claims

• Variation and Change Order Procedures — Pricing and Approving Scope Change
• Notice and Time-Bar Provisions — Protecting Entitlement to Claims
• Delay and Disruption Claims — Evidence, Programme Analysis and Quantum
• Force Majeure and Hardship Events — Suspension and Relief
• Suspension and Termination Rights — Convenience Versus Default

Day 9: Dispute Resolution and Negotiation

• Escalation Ladders in Contracts — Management Meetings to Expert Determination
• Mediation and Dispute Boards — Resolving Issues During Projects
• International Arbitration Clauses — Seat, Rules and Enforcement
• Negotiation Planning for Contract Terms — Interests, Alternatives and Trade-Offs
• Settlement Agreements — Closing Disputes Without Losing Relationships

Day 10: Practising the Oil and Gas Contract Risk Review

• Agreement Structure Mapping — Applying Days 2 to 4 to a Case Contract
• Pricing and Performance Clause Test — Applying Days 5 and 6
• Indemnity and Insurance Gap Check — Applying Day 7 to the Case
• Claims and Dispute Scenario Run — Applying Days 8 and 9
• Oil and Gas Contract Risk Review — Recommendations for Negotiation or Amendment

Applying Oil and Gas Contracts After the Course

• Review the indemnity, liability cap and insurance clauses of one active service contract and report gaps to the legal and insurance leads.
• Audit notice and time-bar compliance on a current engineering, procurement and construction contract and set up a claims notice log.

Oil and Gas Contracts Questions (FAQ)

What are oil and gas contracts and why do they matter now?

They are the agreements that grant petroleum rights, govern partnerships and buy engineering, drilling and services. Contractor pushback on liability, changing host terms and rising decommissioning obligations make the allocation of risk in these contracts decisive for cost and value.

Which roles gain most from oil and gas contracts training?

Contract managers, in-house legal advisers, commercial and business development staff, project managers and procurement leads gain most. Each drafts, negotiates or lives with clauses that decide who pays when events go wrong.

How do oil and gas contracts differ from a general contract management course?

They carry industry-specific risk allocation. A general contract management course covers procurement and administration in any sector, while this course examines production sharing terms, joint operating agreements, knock-for-knock indemnities, well control liability and drilling contracts.

What do you bring back from oil and gas contracts training?

You bring back a contract risk review of one agreement. It maps structure, pricing, performance, indemnity and insurance clauses, tests claim and dispute scenarios and recommends amendments or negotiation points for your next contract round.

Oil and Gas Contracts: The Way Forward

The oil and gas contract risk review gives each participant a clause-by-clause view of one agreement with ranked exposures and proposed fixes. Its first use is the next tender, renewal or amendment, where the contracts manager and legal adviser decide which terms to renegotiate. After that round, revisit the claims and dispute sections, because project conditions change how clauses are tested.