Friday, October 10, 2008

The Skill and Art of Drafting Oil/Gas and General Mining Contracts

Well as a Lawyer it is really fun for me to prepare, draft or review Contracts.

Maybe, it is like a geologies, when they see rocks or stones whether it still at the ground or at the mountain, or even after it had been polished, placed in a building at the walls or as titles, such geologies can tell many stories about such stone or rocks, the history of it where does it originated and came from and many other interesting stories related to such rocks.

It is also like painters, when they painted something either it is nature, abstract, or whatever imaginations they have captured and visualized it with their paintbrush, such painter seems to be deeply involved and is having fun in drawing such painting.

In my personal experience, this kind of fun, enjoyment and excitement can also happen to us as lawyers when we are drafting, preparing and reviewing legal documents or legal transactions.

The surroundings of their day-to-day place or field of work will shape their perception on what they are drafting. So if we focus drafting contracts related to oil and gas and general mining operations activities, the skill of preparing such legal documents to support the management, the end users, the operations person in the field, is to open widely your imagination but focusing and concentrating on the core of the business operations in the oil and gas, or general mining operations.

For instance, as the business lawyer, we have to be fully aware of the circumstances surrounding the operations person, where they are shaped to be persons who are always rushing to get the operation start without delay, if possible to be done yesterday. In the Oil /Gas as well as in the General Mining operations, the stages of the operations are usually processed through the same pattern of stages starting from general survey, exploration, appraising whether there are deposits which are commercially ready to be developed, or un commercial, or in the oil and gas operations dry hole.

If commercial production is being agreed upon, then development of production, will commence and ready to be stored either in the station gathering if it is oil/gas, or production stock for mining products and after that ready to be sold to the market and make profit.

Well, it sounds very interesting isn’t.

Yes, but please make sure that the risk are high, where there will be sinking fund situation borne by the oil/gas or general mining investors, if they have spent lost of monies for starting up the operation from general survey and exploration stages, but after being appraised in the appraisal stage it is determined, that such location is as non commercial for production.

Accordingly, having said the above, then you or us as a business Oil and Gas Lawyer and General Mining Lawyers, must have full consciousness and awareness from the operations/technical side, the business/ economics / commercial side, as well as the legal aspects, and safety, environmental, local culture perspective must be in such a manner, to maintain balance upon all such significant aspects.

Agung Supomo Suleiman

Senior Partner

Of the Law Firm Suleiman Agung & Co

Blog: http://www.sacolaw.blogspot.com

Email : agungsacolaw@telkom.net

Mobile Phone : 0816830647

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