Thommessen is one of Norway’s leading law firms in the oil and gas sector. We have advised the industry since the early development of the Norwegian Continental Shelf and have been involved in major structural changes, development projects and transactions.
We advise across the entire value chain and throughout all stages of petroleum activities – from establishment and pre-qualification, exploration, development and production, to transportation, sales, transactions and decommissioning.
We combine specialist expertise in petroleum law with extensive industry experience and expertise across other relevant legal areas, including corporate law, financing, tax, competition law and dispute resolution. Several of our lawyers have experience from in-house legal and commercial roles within the industry, providing practical insight into the business and the commercial frameworks within which our clients operate.
Petroleum law and regulatory matters
We advise on petroleum law and regulatory matters relating to establishing operations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, field development and operations, further development, life extension and decommissioning.
Our advice includes licensing terms, regulatory processes, plans for development and operation (PDOs), changes to license structures and matters relating to the governance of joint ventures. We also assist in dialogue with the authorities and in matters where the regulatory framework must be assessed in light of established administrative and industry practice.
Field development, contracts and project execution
We advise throughout all phases of field development projects – from concept selection and contracting strategy to negotiations, project execution and final settlement.
The team has extensive experience with commercial agreements relating to field development, infrastructure and production, including tie-in agreements, collaboration structures, and rig and drilling agreements.
We also advise on contracts and procurement in the oil, gas and oilfield services industries, including EPC and EPCI contracts, supply and service agreements, and decommissioning contracts. Our advice covers contracting strategy, contract packaging, supplier interfaces and risk allocation.
During project execution, we assist with change management, delays, claims, payment issues and final settlement. Addressing disagreements at an early stage can reduce the risk of disputes while safeguarding the client’s position should the matter develop into formal proceedings.
Transactions, corporate law, tax and financing
Thommessen has extensive experience with license and corporate transactions in the oil and gas sector. We advise on the acquisition and disposal of interests in production licenses, fields and infrastructure assets, as well as companies and businesses, and on restructurings and the establishment of new market participants.
We handle the entire transaction process – from structuring, regulatory assessments and legal due diligence to transaction agreements, regulatory applications, completion and integration. The team also advises on capital raising, stock exchange listings and financing.
In these processes, we combine industry knowledge with our broader expertise in corporate law and M&A, competition law, capital markets and financing.
The petroleum tax regime on the Norwegian Continental Shelf is complex and has a significant impact on profitability throughout all phases of operations. We advise on ongoing tax matters relating to exploration, development, production, transactions and cessation. Our advice covers, among other matters, immediate deductions in the special tax base, depreciation, consolidation, deductibility and the treatment of decommissioning costs. We also advise on tax aspects of acquisitions and disposals of licence interests and companies, as well as in dialogue with the tax authorities.
Gas transportation, infrastructure and sales
We have particular expertise in gas transportation and petroleum infrastructure and advise, among other matters, on third-party access, capacity issues, transportation terms and regulatory matters relating to upstream transportation systems.
We also advise on oil, gas and LPG sales agreements, including pricing, volume and delivery mechanisms, as well as renegotiations. Experience from different sides of such agreements gives us insight into how commercial and regulatory interests need to be balanced.
Dispute resolution and claims management
In complex disputes, we combine our oil and gas industry expertise with Thommessen’s extensive dispute resolution experience.. We advise on complex disputes relating to, among other matters, offshore developments, supplier contracts, infrastructure agreements, transactions and final settlements.
Our advice covers preventative claims management, negotiations, mediation, arbitration and court proceedings. In-depth knowledge of industry contracts and risk allocation enables us to combine legal strategy with a practical understanding of the available commercial solutions.
Employment law
We advise on employment law matters of particular relevance to the oil and gas sector, including working time arrangements for offshore and rotation personnel, collective agreements, reorganisations and redundancies. Our advice covers both individual and collective employment law, transfers of undertakings in connection with transactions, as well as executive remuneration and incentive arrangements.
Energy transition and new areas of activity
Our oil and gas expertise is also highly relevant to the transition towards new energy solutions and value chains. We advise, among other matters, on carbon capture and storage, electrification of offshore installations, the repurposing of existing infrastructure, and related collaboration and regulatory models.
