UKELG Evening Talk: Joint Operating Agreements – Key legal issues

5 March 2019, London, England

This event has sold out. Please contact the IBA Divisions team at divisions@int-bar.org for any questions.

The topic for this presentation, which will be jointly presented by 20 Essex Street and Norton Rose Fulbright, is JOAs – Key legal issues. David Lewis QC, Angharad Parry, Neil Q Miller and Holly Stebbing will provide an update on case-law and themes arising in relation to disputes under Joint Operating Agreements. Issues covered will include operators’ remedies for failure to pay cash-calls, voting at Opcom, gross negligence of operators, steps that can and cannot be taken by non-operators and duties of good faith.

20 Essex Street is a leading commercial barristers’ chambers that has expertise in heavyweight litigation and arbitrations across the full spectrum of energy and infrastructure disputes. As much of the work involves complex, multi-jurisdictional litigation, members routinely act in disputes with an international dimension. In addition to offering industry-specific experience, the breadth of members’ commercial expertise means they are ideally placed to advise across the wide range of legal issues raised by energy disputes.

Norton Rose Fulbright is a global law firm that provides the world’s preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. They have more than 4,000 lawyers and other legal staff based in Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and Africa. They have one of the largest global energy practices in the world, with more than 900 lawyers servicing the energy industry across all practice areas in every major and developing energy market.

David Lewis QC is a specialist advocate who took silk in 2014 at the age of 36. He was recently nominated for International Arbitration Silk of the Year at the Legal 500 UK Awards 2019. He practises in a wide range of general commercial and private international law disputes, with an emphasis on energy and natural resources especially oil and gas disputes arising under Joint Operating Agreements (“JOAs”). "An excellent advocate. He's able to cut through all the things that aren't relevant to find the right solution. He's approachable, practical and efficient." Chambers UK Bar 2018

Angharad Parry specialises in advisory and advocacy work in a wide range of commercial and private international law disputes concerning litigation and arbitration (both domestic and international). Her practice focuses on projects and heavy industry, sale of goods, commodities, energy and natural resources, offshore, carriage of goods, shipping and conflicts of laws. “A fantastic junior who is thoroughly recommended.” The Legal 500 2018

Neil Q Miller heads the London dispute resolution team of partners specialising in arbitration and litigation in the energy, infrastructure, trade and transport sectors and also heads up the emergency/crisis 24/7 response unit for energy industry clients. In his energy upstream practice, Neil advises both UK and US based IOCs as well as international contractors in the energy sector on disputes involving oil and gas exploration contracts, production sharing agreements, EPC and engineering contracts for fixed and floating production systems. Neil holds OPITO certification to travel and work offshore in the UKCS.

Holly Stebbing is a litigation and dispute resolution lawyer also based in NRF’s London office. Holly's practice focuses on disputes in the energy and natural resources sector, both domestic (including UKCS matters) and international. Holly advises energy and mining companies, governments and states, oilfield services providers, utility companies and petrochemical companies in relation to upstream, midstream and downstream disputes, across the full supply chain. She is also a member of the 24/7 incident response team and is qualified to travel offshore in the UKCS.