Central Asia has emerged as potentially the most important new hydrocarbon province in decades. Among the countries whose natural resources are now the focus of world attention, Kazakhstan is very much in the front rank. The scale and strategic importance of its reserves mean that it is set to become one of the key players in the global market. Realising that potential depends on many factors, not least its legal treatment of the oil and gas industry. The contributors to this volume consider the various dimensions of that legal treatment, including investment and contractual issues, dispute...

This important new work surveys emerging trends in international oil and gas investment and examines crucial issues affecting the formulation and implementation of oil and gas policies world-wide, drawing on expertise from practitioners, academia and industry. The book is timely and topical in that it gives considerable attention to current developments in the relationship between the international petroleum industry and the oil and gas sector in the Commonwealth of Independent States, Russia and Central and Eastern Europe. Its coverage extends to developments in Africa, Asia and Latin...