Main Contents of a Petroleum Contract
1. The principal contents of a petroleum production sharing contract (PSC) shall include:
a) The legal status and participating interests of the contractor signing the contract;
b) The subject matter of the contract;
c) The contract area boundaries and the schedule for area relinquishment;
d) The effective date, duration, phases of the contract, conditions for extending phases, and the modification or extension of the contract term;
đ) The rights and obligations of the contracting parties and the operator;
e) The minimum work commitments and minimum financial commitments for each phase of the contract;
g) The principles for petroleum production sharing and cost recovery determination;
h) The principles for selecting contractors to provide petroleum services and goods for petroleum operations;
i) The host country’s rights over petroleum assets and facilities after cost recovery and upon contract termination;
k) The conditions for assignment or transfer of rights and obligations under the contract;
l) The right of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) to participate in the contract upon a commercial discovery, and its preemptive right to acquire the participating interests, rights, and obligations being transferred by the contractor;
m) Commitments on bonuses, training, scientific research funds, and the priority use of Vietnamese labor and services;
n) The obligations for environmental protection and safety assurance during petroleum operations, as well as the decommissioning obligations for petroleum facilities;
o) The conditions for contract termination and handling of violations;
p) The method of dispute resolution arising from the contract and the governing law.
2. The Prime Minister shall determine the main contents of other types of petroleum contracts appropriate to the characteristics of specific fields, clusters of fields, or petroleum blocks.
3. The Government shall issue the model production sharing contract for petroleum operations.
(Legal basis: Article 20 of the 2022 Petroleum Law)
