International energy investment law

This book examines and assesses the variety of contract- and treaty-based instruments in commercial and international law that protect the respective interests of investors and States in the international energy industry. It covers most forms of energy, especially oil and gas, and considers issues arising from energy network operation including transit. It pays particular attention to their practical impact through an analysis of their enforcement by arbitration tribunals and bodies, such as the ICSID, the ICC and the LCIA. The book also examines growing challenges of environmental and human rights concerns to the stability of long-term agreements. Investors in the international energy industry have long sought to secure guarantees from host States to mitigate the risk of unilateral revision of the deal at a future date. In recent years the traditional method of securing such guarantees has been supplemented by an unprecedented growth of international investment law in the form of BITs, MITs and other treaty-based instruments. Many States have also introduced guarantees into their domestic legislation. This multi-tier regime of stability has fundamentally altered the legal framework for energy investors and host States and offers extensive scope for international arbitration in the event of disputes.