Document Type |
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Article In Journal |
Document Title |
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International Commercial Arbitration In the Contracts of Oil Concessions with ِThe Working Companies within the GCC States التحكيم التجاري الدولي في عقود امتيازات البترول مع الشركات العاملة في دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي |
Subject |
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Systems |
Document Language |
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Arabic |
Abstract |
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This research deals with arbitration as the method of settlement of disputes
under petroleum agreements concluded between a foreign oil company and the
government of a producing country for the exploration and development of oil in the host
county. I have focused mainly on the oil producing countries of the Gulf Co-Operation
Council. However, recourse to international arbitration in petroleum agreements remains
certainly the general rule and the recourse to local courts is becoming none. When
reviewing the arbitration clause in such agreements one dose not fail to detect a certain
development in the drafting and the content of these clauses. It would be observed,
however, that this type of arbitration clause had several deficiencies that made it possible
for either party if it wished to frustrate the arbitral process.
We note, among other things, that this clause does not indicate neither the
procedure to be followed nor the law to be applied by the arbitration tribunal from the
review of the arbitration clauses in the petroleum agreements referred, particularly, the
old-style concession agreements, we note that those clauses were generally ad hoc
arbitration clauses. It is to be remarked that although arbitration is a common term of
most oil concessions in the States of the Gulf Co-operation Council, in practice only a
very small number of disputes have been settled by such means.
As a matter of fact arbitration provisions in oil concessions in the States of the Gulf
Co-operation Council have been utilized effectively until the late seventies in four
arbitration cases only, the Government of Qatar and Petroleum Development Co., in
1950, the Government of Abu-Dhabi and Petroleum Development Co., in 1951, the
Government of Qatar and International Marine Oil Co., in 1953, the Government of
Saudi Arabia and Aramco, in 1958,. In early eighties, we have to add to this list the
arbitration case between the Government of Kuwait and Aminoil, in 1982.
The crucial point on these arbitration’s were whether the proper Law to be applied
in the construction of these agreements were Islamic Law of the host countries or the
Principles of Natural Justice and Equity. The tribunals observed that there were no clear
light upon the intention of the parties on this point. Therefore, recent arbitration’s have
adopted a method of settlement of disputes with certain changes in the successive oil
concession agreements in the drafting of the arbitration clause. |
ISSN |
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1319-0997 |
Journal Name |
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Economics and Administration Journal |
Volume |
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15 |
Issue Number |
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2 |
Publishing Year |
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1422 AH
2001 AD |
Article Type |
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Article |
Added Date |
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Sunday, October 11, 2009 |
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