The global oil and gas sector encompasses the trading of Pipeline Gas and LNG across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North America. Due to the rise in demand and the deregulation of markets, these sectors have expanded rapidly, presenting vast opportunities for various stakeholders, including governments, producers, sellers, transporters, and buyers. However, high-value contracts, complex commercial terms, fluctuating prices, cultural differences, and unforeseen risks have made negotiating contracts, resolving disputes, and managing risks increasingly difficult.
Given these industry dynamics, it is critical for executives in both public and private sectors to undergo specialized training in these areas. To address these needs, this advanced Gas & LNG Contracts Negotiation training course offers in-depth training on the key factors and conditions necessary for successfully finalizing Gas and LNG Sales Agreements. Participants will gain valuable insight into the negotiation processes from both Buyer and Seller perspectives and acquire a comprehensive understanding of the essential terms involved in these transactions.
This Energy Training Centre training course will focus on:
- The dynamics of upstream, midstream, and downstream activities
- Core principles of contract law
- Gas Sales and LNG Contracts in relation to international model contracts
- Transportation Agreements as per international model contracts
- Gas Sales and Purchase Agreements
- Risk management issues in contracts, including insurance, indemnities, liabilities, and force majeure
- Negotiation strategies and techniques pertinent to LNG contracts
This training course is designed to offer a broad overview of LNG contracts within the oil and gas industry, focusing on how to negotiate key LNG contracts profitably, manage pricing and risks, and apply Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in the context of LNG contracts.
Key objectives of this Gas & LNG Contracts Negotiation training course include:
- Identifying common contractual pitfalls in LNG contracts
- Negotiating LNG contracts effectively, with a thorough understanding of insurance provisions, liability, and indemnity clauses
- Enhancing skills in drafting and negotiating LNG force majeure clauses
- Assessing and managing risks relevant to LNG contracts
- Learning and applying dispute resolution techniques to LNG contracts
This hands-on training course on Gas & LNG Contracts Negotiation offers participants a prime opportunity to enhance their skills in planning, negotiating, and drafting LNG contracts. The course will feature interactive activities such as role-playing, case studies, discussion groups, and scenario-building exercises. A key highlight will be a simulation exercise on oil and gas contract negotiations, involving participants in interactive role play. This exercise is designed to help participants apply their newfound knowledge and improve their ability to negotiate more effectively on LNG contracts. Participants will gain practical insights into managing risks and maximizing rewards.
For professionals engaged in the oil and gas sector, both locally and globally, this course presents a rare opportunity to deepen their understanding of LNG contracts and enhance their negotiation and drafting skills. By participating, your organization will benefit by:
- Enhancing the expertise and skill sets of personnel dealing with legal risks in LNG contracts
- Gaining insights into current international practices in LNG contracts through various workshops and exercises
- Learning effective strategies to mitigate risks in LNG contracts
- Improving negotiation skills for contract personnel
Participants in this training course will experience the following personal benefits:
- A unique opportunity to significantly enhance understanding of international LNG contract practices
- Improved negotiation skills and drafting techniques for a range of LNG contracts
- Strategies for managing and mitigating the legal risks associated with LNG contracts
- The ability to select the most suitable form of dispute resolution and craft an appropriate ADR clause
- Enhanced confidence in negotiating and managing claims and disputes effectively
This training course is intended for professionals who are actively involved in or may be involved in contract negotiations and those who need to understand the principles behind gas contracts, including pricing terms and risk allocation.
The target audience for this course includes:
- Senior and Middle Level Commercial Managers
- Commercial Lawyers
- Contracts Managers
- Compliance Personnel
- Risk Managers
- Energy Purchasing Managers
- Strategy Managers
- Pipeline Marketing Managers
- Operations Managers
- Project Managers
- Senior Government Officials and Regulators
Day One: Dynamic of Downstream, Midstream, Upstream & Contract Law
- Introduction to LNG & Sales Contracts
- Training objectives
- key terms and definition
- The main international industry players
- Introduction to specific LNG and Sales agreements
- Legal System and Contract Law
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- Mandatory elements of a legally enforceable contract
- Contract Law: Contract formation
- Contract Law: Contract terms
- Contract Law: Interpretation of contract terms
- Contract Law: Remedies for breach of contract
- Assessing available remedies for breach of contract
- Rescission
- Compensatory damages
- Consequential and incidental damages
- Liquidated damages
- Specific performance
- Injunctive Relief
Day Two: The Essence of the LNG Sales Contracts
- Characteristics of LNG sales contracts
- The contractual process
- Commercial realities
- Drafts and drafting
- Enforcement
- Fundamental legal principles
- Cultural and language issues
- Fundamental Legal Principles
- LNG Sales Contracts
- What is LNG?
- The LNG Industry
- LNG Value Chain
- LNG Sales, and LNG sale and Purchase Agreements
- Financing of LNG Projects
- Current Issues in LNG
- Transportation Agreements
- The contractual arrangements put in place for getting petroleum from the wellhead to the market place
- Off taking and transporting Oil & Gas (pipeline or ship)
- Typical terms of a Gas Pipeline Transportation and Processing Agreement (TPA)
- Transportation (or Transhipment) of crude oil and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) or Gas to Liquids (GTL)
- International practices and model contracts
Day Three: Gas Sale & Purchase Agreements
- Types of Gas Sales Agreements
- Parties
- Term and Effectiveness: Duration and delayed start date provisions
- Sale, Purchase and Delivery
- Gas Reserves
- How to express gas quantities in pipeline gas contracts
- Take-or-pay, Carry Forward and Make Up
- Current practice on shortfall penalties
- Quality
- Price
- Nominations, Undertake, and Overtake
- Measurement and Testing
- Invoicing and Payment
- Force-Majeure in gas sales contracts; the differences between pipeline gas and LNG
- Termination
- Tax
Day Four: Force Majeure Clauses
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- Understand the purpose and risks this clause is intended to mitigate
- Avoiding common Force Majeure pitfalls
- Protect yourself from abuse and misuse of this clause
- Mechanics of exercising Force Majeure rights
- Practical Exercise: Case studies
- Insurance Provisions
- Overview of coverage types
- Understanding typical insurance exclusions
- Assessing the quality of your insurance carrier
- Evaluating deductibles and coverage limits
- Insurance subordination issues
- Effective claims management
- Contract Management
- Operational issues
- Gas delivery procedures and coordination between suppliers, terminal operator, transporters and users
- Types of dispute resolution vehicles
- Importance of the dispute resolution clause
Day Five: Contract Claims & Dispute Resolutions
- Types and Assessment of Claims
- Tiered Dispute Resolution Mechanisms
- Formal Dispute Resolution
- Preventing costly litigation through effective use of ADR option
- Types of dispute resolution vehicles
- Assessing litigation vs. arbitration options
- Mediation considerations
- Considerations for selecting effective mediators and Arbitrators
- Selecting arbitration and mediation rules of procedure
- Drafting effective dispute resolution clause
- Practical Exercise: Mock arbitration exercise
- Contract Close Out
- Contract Review, Evaluation, Lessons Learned
- Seminar Overview – Learning Outcomes
