Dispute Trends In The Energy Sector

Disputes in the energy sector continue to dominate international arbitration, both in terms of number of disputes and their value, but the locus of controversy varies with the market and a wide range of economic and political factors. In this Today’s General Counsel article, London-based Norton Rose Fulbright attorney Neil Miller looks at some recent trends and offers some predictions about future developments. Most recently, lower oil prices have engendered disputes between operators and non-operators over such things as license obligations and royalty payments. For the near future, likely developments include disputes in the multi-billion dollar liquified natural gas industry. Also look for more frequent state-investor disputes, including in the renewable energy sector; disputes in which the alleged impact on climate change is a factor; and commercial disputes arising from China’s “Belt and Road Initiative,” a massive project that’s said to involve more than 70 countries and hundreds of billions of dollars in investment.