OGEL Call for Papers: Special Issue on "Natural Gas Pipeline Construction and Regulation"
12 March 2019
Update December 2019: The OGEL 5 (2019) Special Issue on Natural Gas Pipeline Construction and Regulation was published, table of contents and free excerpt here www.ogel.org/journal-browse-issues-toc.asp?key=83
Oil, Gas and Energy Law Intelligence (OGEL, ISSN 1875-418X, www.ogel.org) invites submissions for a Special issue focusing on laws and contracts relating to the construction and operation of natural gas pipelines. The editors for this issue are Thomas J. Dimitroff, Senior Advisor, Global Infrastructure & Civil Economics, Roland Berger, GmbH; Partner at Infrastructure Development Partnership LLP and Professor Kim Talus, James McCulloch Chair in Energy Law and Director, Tulane Center for Energy Law Tulane Law School; Professor of European Economic and Energy Law, UEF Law School; Professor of Energy Law, University of Helsinki.
Between a natural gas field and the gas-off-taker, whether industrial or consumer, is an indispensable and often less discussed link in the value chain: the pipeline. Without this critical link, trades cannot be concluded and natural gas has little value. The financing, construction, operation and regulation of pipelines are today one of the hot topics in the natural gas sector. The drivers of decisions today are different from the past and the emergence of unconventional oil and gas sources, the increasingly important LNG market, gas to power projects and similar developments in both developed and emerging markets also impact the need for new pipeline capacities as well as the redeployment of existing capacity.
In the US, the rapidly changing natural gas markets have created shortages in the transmission capacities and the need for faster permitting process, without compromising environmental considerations, is urgent. New pipelines are also required to bring natural gas to the rapidly emerging LNG export markets. In the EU, new cross-border pipelines are being constructed and regulatory measures have been taken to facilitate the construction of such pipelines. EU developments are marked by increasing role of the public sector and EU Commission in pipeline construction, both as direct financier and permitting entity. New laws also attempt to bring external pipelines under EU regulation and control. In China, the government is setting up a new state pipeline company with the intention of providing better access for gas market players.[1] Emerging markets are looking for ways to attract inward investment into critical gas to power infrastructure, including pipelines, to link now stranded gas fields to energy hungry local demand markets. Similar developments are taking place around the world.
In all cases, the financing, permitting, construction and operation of new pipelines and the specific commercial structure that drives operational details for these pipelines is subject to a specific regulatory framework and/or specific gas transportation contracts. Details of these laws and contracts have a significant impact on success of these projects.
This OGEL Special Issue seeks to provide information on national and international solutions, financing options, and regulatory and contractual choices adopted to regulate construction and operation of natural gas pipelines. We encourage submission of relevant papers, studies, and brief comments on various aspects of this subject. The topics may cover a wide range of issues such as regulatory measures to support pipeline construction, operational regimes for pipeline operation, financing and other contractual aspects relating to pipeline construction, contractual elements in linking pipeline projects with LNG or gas to power projects, regulation of pipelines under international law, international pipeline agreements and so forth.
In particular, we are interested in contributions in the following areas:
- Pipelines that constitute indispensable links between gas production, LNG liquefaction, regassification and downstream consumption whether industrial, power, fertilizer, consumer distribution or other means of gas monetization;
- Forthcoming large-scale cross-border natural gas pipelines (for example transit avoidance pipelines and pipelines from new producing areas to export markets);
- Commercial structures and government and institutional interventions that may be required to stimulate investment into and financing of pipeline infrastructure that links together the gas value chain - especially in emerging markets.
Papers should be submitted by the end of August 2019 to the editors:
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Thomas J. Dimitroff
Roland Berger GmbH; Infrastructure Development Partnership LLP
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Professor Kim Talus
Tulane Center for Energy Law, Tulane Law School; UEF Law School; University of Helsinki
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[1] "China plans new state pipeline company in massive energy reshuffle", 27 February 2019.
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