ABSTRACT
The techniques of negotiating petroleum and mining contracts have significantly changed over the years, particularly since the period of decolonisation. These techniques became consolidated during what may be called the period of economic stabilisation of the petroleum providing countries. Such resources belong to the country in which they are found, and it has been the common practice for states to ensure that they remain under their control and ownership. In negotiating these contracts, prospective licensees should appreciate that licensors are the real owners of these resources, and that as independent sovereign states, they have bargaining powers. Before discussing the technique of negotiating petroleum contracts, it would be appropriate to identify some of the principal features of state contracts, which a negotiator may find useful. A state contract is a contract to which one party is a government, and the other a private foreign entity, usually, a transnational corporation.
