The Impact of Shale Development on International and Domestic Oil and Gas Contracts

Andrew R. Thomas, Cleveland State University

Abstract

In new oil and gas provinces, such as Ohio, Pennsylvania or Ukraine, learning oil and gas customs can be a hard lesson for those trying to break into the industry as service providers. They need to get up to speed quickly on customs, form agreements, and applicable laws. But unconventional oil and gas recovery will also lead eventually to unconventional agreements. In this regard, the nascent upstream service industry in new shale provinces are not so far behind - there is reason to be to be optimistic that oil and gas companies will be rethinking how they transact business as a result of the shale boom.