Sydney Law School is pleased to announce this new first semester intensive unit of study as part of its Postgraduate Program for 2011.

Principles of Oil and Gas Law offers an introduction to the basic legal concepts relating to oil and gas exploration and production and an understanding of the characteristics of the key legal devices through which this activity is organised in Australia and elsewhere.

It will survey how states develop and operate the legal regimes reflecting key issues and policy concerns.

It thus complements Global Oil and Gas Contracts and Issues, whose primary focus is on how international investors deal with these regimes.

It is designed both for lawyers who wish to begin to develop a specialised competence in the field of oil and gas law, and for non-lawyers active in or in connection with the industry, who need an appreciation of the legal context in which its activities are carried on.

On completion of the unit, participants should be able:

• to explain the specific legal problems posed by the physical characteristics of oil and gas;
• to identify different approaches to the resolution of those problems, their strengths and weaknesses;
• to analyse the specific issues presented by offshore oil and gas resources;
• to compare the approaches of different states to the exploitation of their oil and gas resources, and the different legal vehicles used to support and control the involvement of private capital is involved in this task;
• to identify the problems that may arise at each stage of the exploration, production and disposition of oil and gas, and to analyse their legal solutions;
• to describe the methods by which the state obtains a financial return from oil and gas operations;
• to outline the legal approach to any special environmental and occupational safety problems posed by oil and gas operations; and
• to consider how legal regimes for oil and gas exploration and production may be evaluated in terms of political and legal risk.

Professor Terence Daintith is a Professorial Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London.

He specialises in public law and has a particular interest in the relations between law and the economy.

He has held posts at the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Dundee (where he held the Chair of Public Law and founded the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy), the European University Institute in Florence, and the University of London (where he was Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and Dean of the University's School of Advanced Study).

His recent research has covered topics such as constitutional protection of economic rights, judicial review of contractual and administrative discretion, and discretion in the administration of offshore oil and gas law.

The unit is available to study through the following Sydney Law School degree programmes:

• Master of Laws (LLM) or Graduate Diploma in Law (GradDipLaw)
• Master of International Law (MIL) or Graduate Diploma in International Law (GradDipIntLaw)
• Master of Business Law (MBL)
• Master of Global Law (MGlobL)
• Master of International Business & Law (MIntBus&L)
• Graduate Diploma in Commercial Law (GradDipCommLaw)
• Graduate Diploma in Corporate, Securities & Finance Law (GradDipCorpLaw)
• Graduate Diploma in International Business Law (GradDipIntBusLaw)

Candidates can also enrol in this subject on a Legal Professional Development (LPD), Single Unit Enrolment or Cross-Institutional basis.

For further enquiries or to apply or enrol, please contact the Postgraduate Team.

Further information on the 2011 Sydney Law School Postgraduate Program

Candidates can also enrol in this subject on a Legal Professional Development (LPD), Single Unit Enrolment or Cross-Institutional basis.

For further enquiries or to apply or enrol, please contact the Postgraduate Team.

Further information on the 2011 Sydney Law School Postgraduate Program