Through 2017 and, looking ahead to 2018, we have seen a number of trends arising in oil and gas disputes. As infrastructure ages in mature basins such as the North Sea, disputes have arisen in relation to force majeure provisions, maintenance and third party access, and disputes relating to decommissioning are likely to increase. New challenges for energy majors are emerging in the form of class actions, including in relation to climate change in the US courts. An increasing number of group actions are also being brought in the English courts for environmental damage abroad. Meanwhile, the recent trends of LNG and natural gas price review disputes and disputes relating to the low oil price continue but the incidence of drilling rig disputes, particularly post-Transocean Drilling UK Ltd v Providence Resources Plc [2016] EWCA Civ 372, appears to be subsiding.
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