Following a number of high-profile investments by private equity interests in North Sea infrastructure, this article by David Foxton QC and David Davies published in the International Energy Law Review [2018] I.E.L.R. 55 considers the legal obstacles which the terms of the Joint Operating Agreement regulating the relationship of the co-owners to an asset may place on such transactions. These include rights of pre-emption which may arise on any attempt by an original participant to dispose of its interest; the difficulties when the transfer is premised on the private equity interests assuming the position of operator; the issues which may arise when contractual definitions assume an interest of the co-owners in associated oil and gas fields or infrastructure which the investing entity does not meet; and it looks at the assurances which the remaining co-owners may be entitled to seek as a condition of consenting to the transfer. Read the article in full here.
This material was first published by Thomson Reuters, trading as Sweet & Maxwell, 5 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5AQ, in the International Energy Law Review as “Legal Issues Concerning Private Equity Investment in Jointly Owned North Sea Midstream Infrastructure” [2018] I.E.L.R. 155-161 and is reproduced by agreement with the publishers. For further details of International Energy Law Review, please see the publishers’ website: http://www.sweetandmaxwell.co.uk.
