DIAC organizes a conference on dispute resolution in international oil & gas contracts

The conference will be officially inaugurated by His Excellency Mohammed bin Dha'en Al Hamili, UAE Minister of Energy, and attended by Prince Dr. Bandar bin Salman Al Saoud, Counselor of His Majesty King of Saudi Arabia and Head of the Saudi Arbitration Team, and a large number of international commercial arbitration speakers and experts.

Organizing this economic conference comes in the line of DIAC's plan and DCCI's strategy aiming to introduce the local business community, especially those involved in oil and gas industry, to the latest and most effective means of dispute resolutions that could emerge among contractors for better development.

DIAC's conference provides a unique opportunity through bringing together top experts and arbitrators from all over the world to examine dispute resolution procedures in international oil and gas contracts. It offers a chance to develop a network of experts of arbitration and mediation to discuss major oil and gas issues and the best effective ways to overcome obstacles that face oil and gas contracts.

Engineer Hamad Buamim, DCCI Director General, stressed the importance of DIAC as a significant institution that provides the local business community with international arbitration services overviewed by members of its highly-qualified Board of Trustees, through active coordination with DCCI to instill trust among business communities, support investment and encourage business growth.

"The importance of this conference lies in the issues it will discuss on models of disputes in oil and gas contracts and the mechanism of resolving these disputes, as well as other related regulations of resolution. It will also discuss the environmental and decommissioning disputes in the oil and gas industry and other related topics which will be handled by top economic experts," said Buamim.

Dr. Hussam Al Talhuni, DIAC Director, highlighted the importance of this conference due to the economic importance of oil and gas industry on local, regional and global fronts. He pointed out that it will discuss models of contracts stipulations which regulate the trade of oil and gas sector according to international standards.

He noted that the conference will attract an elite group of international speakers and experts of oil and gas arbitration who are some of 1900 members of AIPN in over 80 countries. The conference will be attended by a number of directors and senior executives of oil and gas companies and top officials from the UAE Ministry of Energy and a number of lawyers and counselors and mediators in oil and gas contracts.

The topics to be discussed in different sessions through the two-day conference include the history of international oil and gas disputes, perspectives on choice of law, venue, arbitral institutions and Ad Hoc arbitration in the Middle East, drafting and negotiating dispute resolution provisions in oil and gas agreements, flashpoints for conflict in oil and gas agreements in terms of host government contracts, joint ventures, confidentiality, bidding, consultancy, lifting, sales and other services, stabilization and adaptation in oil and gas investments, some models of investment treaties, and other unique issues in oil and gas disputes.

All lectures and presentations of the conference will be delivered in English provided with simultaneous translation. It will be attended by a large number of representatives and correspondents of local newspapers, magazines and other means of media in the UAE.