Some companies may reject the formal nature of a joint offer agreement and instead opt for a non-binding roadmap or memorandum of understanding. However, a binding joint offer agreement has advantages, the negotiation of which may oblige the parties to discuss at the outset the essential terms of the transaction in order to reduce uncertainty in a joint offer procedure. In addition, the parties should be aware that there may be mutual interest agreements (“AMIA”) that could bind potential consortium members. The impact of these existing agreements on the composition of the envisaged consortium needs to be carefully considered. Due to differences in industry practices, standards, laws and practices, the appointing authority`s drafting committees are drawn from a broad group of practitioners and negotiators who collaborate to develop a balanced and comprehensive model contract, with options and alternatives to reflect differences in international industry practices. The Joint Study and Bid Agreement (JSBA) is a contractual agreement commonly used in the international oil and gas industry, under which several parties wish to jointly review a specific license area in order to ultimately submit a joint offer for the license/concession outside of a registered joint venture vehicle. For more information on licences/concessions, see practice note: Basic oil agreements – concessions, production sharing contracts and service contracts. Conceptually, the JSBA, as a precursor to JOA, is a short-term agreement that must operate between the granting of the license and the completion of the JOA. However, it is not uncommon for negotiations on the OJA to take a long time and be the subject of long controversies, especially when the parties come from different legal orders and have different experiences in the management of the British continental shelf (UKCS). A longer joy negotiation will extend the duration of the consortium`s dependence on JSBA as the management vehicle for its joint venture. This may be an alarming proposal for the consortium if the JSBA is not afraid of this possibility.

A JSBA is preceded by project documents such as a Production Sharing Agreement (PSC) or a Joint Operating Agreement (JSA) that the parties to the JSBA typically enter into if the offer is successful. In some legal systems, joint offer agreements may be subject to revision as they are contrary to competition law. We do not expect these kinds of problems in Abu Dhabi. A joint offer agreement, used in Abu Dhabi, should cover at least the following conditions: Andrew has in-house and private legal experience and works on oil and gas contracts and projects internationally. In the 2009/2010 editions of Chambers Global and the Asia Pacific Legal 500, he was recognized as one of Australia`s leading energy and resource lawyers. Since the technical and financial competence of a third party may lie everywhere in areas of high to unproven competence, the criteria for the introduction of a third party must be carefully weighed in order to minimise the risk of dissatisfaction among the other members of the consortium in the event of a third party joining the group. The JSBA should define the criteria necessary to join the consortium and consider the procedure for the approval of a third party by the remaining members of the consortium (including the application for unanimous approval). . . .