Introduction

With this new extensive issue we present up to date insights and intelligence into several themes:

First, we have an excellent special issue on international unitisation put together by Jim Ross, a well known and experienced geologist, with additional legal qualifications and a specialty in unitisation consultancy.

Second, given the significance of Iraq - with oil reserves likely to be perhaps double or more of current production - we have assembled a lot of recent material on production-sharing contracts and legislative efforts (much of it controversial) in Iraq. We would like to receive comments on those and envisage to publish them.

Third, we have very interesting analyses, including a significant article by Mr Fucci of Thelen Reid in New York, on renegotiation and stabilisation clauses. These issues are currently of great practical relevance when existing contracts throughout are disrupted by fiscal and renegotiation demands due to the steeply increased oil prices. They play a considerable role in several on-going, and not public, disputes.