Energy resources are of great importance, the most vital of which is oil. Oil plays an essential role in areas such as economic growth, industrial production, and transportation. However, due to the nature of petroleum and its environmental, economic and social impacts, the use and management of this resource requires different legal regulations.

International petroleum law deals with legal issues related to the exploration, discovery, extraction, transportation, distribution and sale of oil and natural gas. This branch of law is shaped by numerous laws, regulations, contracts and agreements at both national and international levels, especially energy law, environmental law, maritime law and commercial law.

International petroleum law often deals with issues such as:

• Issuing licenses and permits for oil and gas exploration and extraction
• Monitoring and managing oil and gas resources
• Financing oil and gas projects
• Oil and gas trading and their prices
• Oil and gas transportation and distribution
• Environmental and health safety standards
• Legal issues related to offshore oil and gas extraction
• Implementation of oil and gas contracts
• Resolving international energy disputes.

Petroleum law, which is formulated through various laws, regulations and agreements at the national and international levels, focuses on important objectives, such as ensuring energy security, protecting environmental sustainability and promoting equitable participation.

The main objectives of petroleum law include:

• Economic efficiency and attracting investments: Petroleum law aims to provide an appropriate legal framework to encourage investment in the oil industry and support economic growth. This framework includes elements, such as conducting oil exploration and oil extraction activities for companies, protecting investors’ rights and promoting competition.
• Environmental protection and sustainability: The oil industry is an important sector that can cause environmental impacts. Petroleum law aims to set environmental protection standards and provide the necessary regulations to reduce the environmental impacts of petroleum activities. This can include various measures such as oil spill containment measures, marine pollution prevention measures, and incentives for renewable energy sources.
• Fair and equitable sharing: Petroleum law aims to ensure that oil resources are shared in a fair and equitable manner. This covers issues including the management of publicly owned oil reserves, tax policies, income distribution, and the benefit of local communities. It is also important to ensure fair and transparent competition between parties involved in the oil industry.

International petroleum law was developed to manage complex relationships between countries, oil companies, financial institutions and other parties. The purpose of international petroleum law is to ensure the fair, efficient and sustainable use of oil and gas resources. This contributes to achieving broad goals, such as ensuring energy security, protecting the environment and promoting economic development.

Many countries have established national petroleum laws or petroleum law legislation to regulate the petroleum industry. These laws regulate the ownership of oil reserves, licenses and permits, environmental protection, taxation, competition policy, employee safety and compensation.

At the international level, there are some important agreements and organizations that have an impact on the oil industry. The most important of these is OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries). OPEC is an organization that provides cooperation between member countries in order to regulate oil prices and production amounts. Other international agreements include “Petroleum Sharing Contracts (PSC)” and “Production Sharing Agreements (PSA)” that regulate oil exploration and extraction activities.

Petroleum is a resource that covers a number of important issues in relation to international law, and the following cover some of these topics:

*Cross-Border Oil Transportation:

Oil is usually transported across borders between different countries. Therefore, there are many international agreements and regulations related to the transportation of oil. These may include agreements such as the International Maritime Convention (MARPOL) established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for maritime transport.

*Oil Pollution and Environmental Impacts:

Events such as oil spills and marine accidents can have serious environmental impacts on marine and terrestrial ecosystems. There are several international legal regulations relating to such events. For example, the 1992 International Convention against the Hazards of Oil Pollution (OPRC) and the 1990 International Convention for the Prevention and Control of Marine Pollution (MARPOL) play an important role in combating oil pollution.

*Oil Resources and Border Disputes

Areas where oil is discovered often cause conflicts between countries. These disputes are usually related to the definition of maritime boundaries and are often attempted to be resolved through mechanisms such as international arbitration or the International Court of Justice.

*Oil Trading and Contracts

Oil is an important component of international trade. International standards and agreements used in oil trade, such as the International Commercial Terms (INCOTERMS) and the International Petroleum Agreements (IPAs) issued by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), aim to facilitate contracting and trade between parties.

*Energy and Oil Security

Oil is the main source of energy needs for many countries and forms an important part of their energy security strategies. Security risks in oil supplies and other national security issues may require cooperation and agreements between countries.

The above issues are some of the basic elements of oil that are dealt with under international law. This list is not exhaustive and more legal issues relating to other oil fields can also be found.

Since oil is part of the energy sector, many countries have laws regulating the energy sector. These laws aim to oversee energy policies, energy production and distribution, energy markets and prices, and the activities of energy companies.

The petroleum industry is closely linked to environmental legislation due to its environmental impact. Environmental regulations establish environmental standards in order to prevent and control pollution that may arise during oil extraction operations and refineries. The potential impacts of oil and gas production on the environment are controlled by various environmental regulations.

Many countries have introduced specific licensing and authorization requirements for activities such as oil extraction and sale. This legislation ensures that companies obtain permission and comply with appropriate regulations to extract or sell oil in a particular area.