Arbitrator

Emergency Arbitrator under Article 37 (Emergency Measures of Protection) of the ICDR International Arbitration Rules dealing with IP claim.

Party appointed arbitrator in an ICC arbitration between an American oil & gas company and a Latin American national oil company. The dispute dealt with a multi-million dollar claim on oil trading agreements.

Party appointed arbitrator in an AAA arbitration for a multi-million dollar claim concerning a gas storage facility in California, USA.

Institute appointed chair of three member tribunal for an UNCITRAL arbitration administered by ICDR with its legal seat in Houston, Texas. The dispute was between a major US oil company and a major European engineering & construction services company involving nearly US$ 300 million in claims and counterclaims for cost overruns and deficiencies in the design and build of a deep draft, semi-submersible oil production facility and its mooring system in the Gulf of Mexico, USA.

Party appointed arbitrator in an ICC arbitration between an American service company and a Saudi company. The dispute dealt with a multi-million dollar joint venture agreement and company between the parties.

Institute appointed sole arbitrator in a series of franchise agreements.

Tribunal arbitrator in an ad hoc international arbitration using the UNCITRAL Model Law. The dispute concerned claims under a Farmout Agreement and various other agreements in a North African concession. Claims of more than US$ 10 million. Dealt with requests for injunctive relief and costs.

Sole arbitrator in an ICDR arbitration between a Chinese company and an American company. The dispute involved a Farmout Agreement and a Joint Operating Agreement arising from a Production Sharing Contract in the Republic of Georgia, FSU. Claims and counterclaims were over US$ 40 million.

Counsel

Counsel in a number of large international arbitrations. Responsibilities included: dispute resolution strategy, direction of counsel & experts, drafted pleadings & legal memoranda, negotiated & mediated settlements, and determined final resolution of disputes for:

An ICC arbitration for damages for failure to provide the claimant with a right to acquire an interest in licenses for the exploration and development of oil and gas in an FSU country, pursuant to an AMI agreement.  The research, gathering of facts and arbitral pleadings were completed. The matter was settled for US$ 4 million before proceeding with the arbitration.

A series of claims for monies owed under an operating agreement and a sale and transfer agreement involving several oil and gas properties in a South East Asian country. The first claim was successfully made in the courts of the Turks and Caicos and US$ 1.5 million was collected. The second set of claims for US$ 5.3 million was made under an ICC arbitration.

An ICC arbitration regarding a claim under an AMI Agreement for an oil and gas property in a Middle Eastern country. The claimant originally disputed the forum and threatened initiating action in a variety of domestic courts requiring co-ordination of a multi-jurisdictional defence of forum non conviens and a stay of pleadings. The claim was settled for US$ 135 million.

A claim for US$ 8 million resulting from a terrorist attack on a French tanker about to load oil at the claimant's terminal in the Middle East. Respondent provided contract tug services to the claimant under a contract which provided for the splitting of any salvage claims between the respondent and the claimant. Respondent's tug engaged in the salvage operations for the shipowner under a Lloyd's Open Form that provided for claims to be resolved by a single arbitrator appointed by Lloyd's Council using the Lloyd's Salvage Procedural Rules. The contract between the claimant and respondent provided for an ICC arbitration. The claimant had claims against both the shipowner and the respondent as to a share of the salvage claims.

Expert

Provided expert opinion on international cross-border pipeline operating agreements in an ICC arbitration between a national pipeline company and an international O&G company consortium.

Retained as an expert on international oil & gas agreements by Latin American country in an ICSID arbitration. Provided expert reports and testimony on farmout and joint operating agreements and how they worked with host government contracts. Claim was for more than US$ 3 billion.

Provided expert advice to international oil & gas company and their valuation experts on an ICSID multi-billon dollar claim against a Latin American country.

Counsel for claims in a variety of domestic courts around the world. Responsible for litigation strategy, directed local counsel, negotiated settlements and determined final resolution of disputes, including:

A series of claims (called Acciones Populares & Acciones Contractuales) totaling US$ 6 million made in the district courts of a Latin American country by the local governments against an international oil company (IOC) and the national oil company(NOC). The claims were for a recalculation of royalties under an Association Contract issued to the defendant and the distribution of such extra royalties to the local governments. The federal government and the NOC had agreed to the lower royalty structure with the IOC.

A claim for US$97.5 million for an alleged drainage of oil from the claimants' block by the defendants' group which had an adjacent block in the North Sea. This claim was successfully defended in the Hague District Court then appealed to the Hague Court of Appeal.

A claim of more than US$ 10 million for the failure of two turbogenerator units at the claimant's central oil processing facilities in the Middle East. The units were supplied under a short purchase order that stated Alberta law was the substantive law of the contract but failed to specify the forum. The equipment originated in the United States, the units failed to operate in the Middle Eastern country, the claimant's company was incorporated in Jersey, Channel Islands and the defendant's company was a wholly owned Canadian subsidiary of a U.S. multinational. The claimant sued the defendant in the Superior Court of California. The defendant subsequently engaged in a series of procedural defences, including motions to quash for lack of proper service under the Hague Convention and forum non conveniens and a stipulation to move the claim from state to federal district court. All of which were successfully defeated. The defendant settled and replaced the failed turbogenerators.

A claim of approximately US$ 27 million for damages suffered to a pipeline located in the Middle East from a flash flood. The initial claim was for the defective design and construction of the pipeline. There were three contractors involved in providing the work under four different contracts with different governing law and dispute resolution mechanisms. In order to preserve the limitation periods, standstill agreements were negotiationed and entered into and a lawsuit was initiated in Harris County, Texas. After completing an analysis of the facts covering a fifteen year period, it was decided to not pursue a claim against the contractors. Instead, a claim was made under the  insurance contracts for the pipeline which were governed by New York law.

Counsel for international boundary disputes advising corporate management and joint venture partners, liaised with counsel, negotiated with and advised governments, and mediated settlements. These disputes were between sovereign governments concerning oil & gas concessions located in disputed boundary areas that were awarded to my clients.

The boundary line between Yemen and Saudi Arabia had been under dispute for more than seventy-five years. My client acquired six blocks from Yemen within this disputed area between 1998-1999. The clarification of the boundary line was a major determinant for exploration activity on these blocks. Provided consultation to the government of Yemen. Subsequently, the President of Yemen reached an agreement with the King of Saudi Arabia that was enshrined in a bilateral treaty in June 2000.

A border dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Gabon that consisted of two issues. The first was a sovereignty issue involving ownership of three small islands (Mbanie, Cocotier, and Conga) in Corisco Bay located between the two countries. The second issue in dispute was the Equatorial Guinea-Gabon Maritime Boundary. These were under dispute since 1972 when Equatorial Guinea gained independence from Spain. The dispute was mediated by a UN sponsored mediator. My client operated a block issued by Equatorial Guinea within this disputed area and funded Equatorial Guinea's legal costs. Liaised with legal counsel and the government of Equatorial Guinea. Advised them of the block participants' position on the demarcation of the maritime boundary and the creation of a Joint Development Zone (JDZ) within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the two countries.

A boundary dispute between Timor-Leste (formerly known as East Timor) and Australia. In 1972, Australia and Indonesia signed a seabed treaty defining the maritime boundaries between them. Portugal, which was the colonial ruler of East Timor at that time, did not participate in the treaty resulting in an incomplete boundary area known as the Timor Gap. Indonesia invaded and occupied East Timor in 1975. In 1979, Indonesia and Australia began negotiations which led to the ratification of the Timor Gap Treaty in 1989 that gave Australia the largest share of the Timor Gap in return for Australia recognizing Indonesia's annexation of East Timor. This treaty created a Zone of Cooperation (ZOC) that was jointly administered with a 50/50 split of the revenues. All of this changed in 1999 with the uprisings in East Timor, the eviction of Indonesian forces and the occupation of the territory by the UN Transitional Administration. Shortly thereafter, Australia and Timor-Leste agreed to a new 90/10 revenue split for the ZOC in favour of Timor-Leste. But they failed to agree to change the remaining boundary lines that were previously set with Indonesia. Timor-Leste initiated legal action against the oil companies operating blocks issued by Australia within Australian waters that it disputed. My client operated one of those blocks. Responsible for dealing with Timor's claims and liaision with the Australian government.

A series of maritime boundary disputes among the states of Nigeria, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. My client was the operator of one block issued by Nigeria located in waters disputed by Cameroon and was a consortium participant of another block issued by Nigeria that was in waters disputed by Equatorial Guinea. The maritime boundary between Nigeria and Cameroon was determined in October 2002 by the International Court of Justice. Even though the ICJ defined the maritime boundary by geographical coordinates, it failed to indicate the geodetic datum to which those coordinates referred. The result was that approximately 20 km² of prospective acreage within my client's block was still disputed. My client eventually relinquished this block rendering the dispute irrelevant to it. The second dispute was resolved in a maritime boundary agreement concluded between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria in September 2000 and a unitization agreement reached between the two countries in 2002.

• Advised the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs for the Province of Alberta on Canada's ratification of the International Convention for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID or Washington Convention). Canada subsequently ratified the Washington Convention and the Province of Alberta enacted implementing legislation.
• Advised Head of Yemeni Senate and Yemeni Ambassador to Canada on ratification of the New York Convention and the Washington Convention by the Republic of Yemen. Yemen subsequently ratified the Washington Convention.
• Delivered speeches on the topic of international arbitration (see Speeches section).
• Published articles on international arbitration (see Publications section).
  
  
• Led development and publication of Model Arbitration Clauses and Guidance Notes for Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN) that are used by petroleum lawyers & negotiators worldwide.
  
  
• Author of Primer on International Dispute Resolution for Independent Petroleum Association of America and Association of International Petroleum Negotiators. This publication has been described by reviewers in the energy sector and the arbitration world as a "magnum opus", a "tour de force", a "fantastic reference work". a "great publication", "excellent" and an "invaluable contribution" to users of international dispute resolution services.
  
  
  
• Conference Chair for Dispute Resolution in International Oil & Gas Agreements Conference in Dubai, UAE on November 13^th & 14^th, 2006 co-organized by the AIPN and the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC).
  
  
• Conference Chair for Dispute Resolution in International Oil & Gas Business Conference in Paris, France on October 29^th & 30^th, 2007 co-organized by the AIPN and the ICC International Court of Arbitration.
  
  
• Conference Chair for Dispute Resolution in International Oil & Gas Business Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on October 20^th & 21^st, 2008 co-organized by the AIPN and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR).
  
  
• Conference Chair for Dispute Resolution in International Oil & Gas Business Conference in Singapore on October 26^th & 27^th, 2009 co-organized by the AIPN, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and the ICDR.
  
  
• Conference Chair for Dispute Resolution in International Oil & Gas Business Conference in Houston, Texas, USA on April 19^th, 20^th & 21^st, 2010 co-organized by the AIPN and the ICDR.
  
  
• Conference Chair for Dispute Resolution in International Oil & Gas Business Conference in Paris, France on October 3^rd & 4^th, 2011 co-organized by the AIPN and the ICC International Court of Arbitration.

Faculty Member for International Commercial Arbitration Training
(www.arbitrators.org)
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
November 18^th & 19^th, 2011

ITA Annual Workshop & Forum
(www.cailaw.org/ita)
Dallas, Texas, USA
June 16 & 17, 2011

ICDR International Symposia In Advanced Case Management Issues
(www.adr.org)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
May 6, 2011

LCIA North American Users' Council Symposium
(www.lcia-arbitration.com)
Vancouver, BC, Canada
October 3, 2010

ICC/IBA Roundtable
ICC International Court of Arbitration
(www.iccwbo.org/court/arbitration)
Vancouver, BC, Canada
October 2, 2010

ITA Annual Workshop & Forum
(www.cailaw.org/ita)
Dallas, Texas, USA
June 17 & 18, 2010

LCIA European Users' Council Symposium
(www.lcia-arbitration.com)
Tylney Hall
London, England, UK
May 8 & 9, 2010

LCIA European Users' Council Symposium
(www.lcia-arbitration.com)
Madrid, Spain
October 4, 2009

ITA Annual Workshop & Forum
(www.cailaw.org/ita)
Dallas, Texas, USA
June 18 & 19, 2009

Western Canadian Arbitrators Round Table Annual Workshop
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
May 13, 2009

AAA & ICDR Neutrals Conference
(www.adr.org)
Coronado Island, California, USA
February 27 & 28, 2009

International Bar Association Annual Conference
Arbitration Committee Workshops
Buenos Aires, Argentina
October 13-17, 2008

Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Masters Class
(www.arbitrators.org)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
October 13, 2008

LCIA Latin American Users' Council Symposium
(www.lcia-arbitration.com)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
October 11, 2008

ICC Rules of Arbitration - 10^th Anniversary
ICC International Court of Arbitration
(www.iccwbo.org/court/arbitration)
Paris, France
April 23, 2008

LCIA North American Users' Council Symposium
(www.lcia-arbitration.com)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
September 29, 2007

ICDR International Symposia in Advanced Case Management Issues
(www.adr.org)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
September 27, 2007

ICCA Congress
(www.arbitration-icca.org)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
June 1-3, 2006

AAA/ICC/ICSID Joint International Arbitration Colloquium
New York, NY, USA
November 18, 2005

AAA International Symposium in Advanced Case Management Issues
(www.adr.org)
Palm Springs, California, USA
March 3, 2005 

Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
(www.arbitrators.org)
Fellowship Workshop
San Antonio, Texas, USA
March 18-20, 2003