Oil & Gas Legal Services
Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH) offers a dedicated and experienced Oil and Gas team who form an integral part of your oil and gas projects across the value chain. Our Oil and Gas team have unique and substantial legal expertise in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors. We advise major independent oil companies, national oil companies, service providers and regulatory authorities across the oil and gas value chain and in multiple jurisdictions.
Our team has a thorough understanding of the geographic and geopolitical factors that shape and impact the oil and gas industry and we offer valuable commercial insight to clients embarking on oil and gas projects, in both developed and emerging markets, worldwide. Our breadth of experience, acting for clients in both the public and private sectors, means we have a comprehensive approach to structuring transactions in order to address the complex economic and political goals of participants in the oil and gas sector. Our lawyers combine intricate knowledge of the oil and gas sector with your unique business realities in order to achieve your desired results.
By choosing our Oil and Gas team as trusted advisors, clients gain access to practical regulatory advice, advanced contract engineering and seasoned contract negotiators.
Due Diligence Investigations and Reports
- Title and regulatory compliance due diligences on oil and gas assets
- Entry level requirements for a foreign IOCs or NOCs
- Multi-jurisdictional corporate acquisitions relevant to the acquisition of upstream, midstream and downstream interests
- In preparation for drilling, IPOs, or in anticipation of farm-out/s
- On Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative obligations, compliance requirements and reports
Upstream Services
- Upstream M&A Transactional Agreements (FOAs, Asset Sale and Purchase Agreement and Participating Agreements)
- Joint Operating Agreements
- Drilling and Drilling Support Services Agreements
- Field Development Agreements
- Front-End Engineering Design Agreements
- FPS Design, Build, Charter and Operate Agreement
- EPC, EPCI and EPCM Agreements (pipelines and subsea facilities)
- Gas Sales Agreements and Gas Balancing Agreements
- Crude Offtake Agreements and Lifting Agreements
- Seismic Acquisition and Well Services Service Agreements
- Multi-client Agreements
- Applications for hydrocarbon permits, rights, licences and concessions, renewals and transfers
- Host government instruments - Rights, Permits, Licenses, PSA’s and hybrids, Risk Services, Pure Services, Technical Assistance Agreements and/or Buy-back Services Agreements
- Area of mutual interest Agreements, Study and bid group Agreements
- Third party operator Agreements, Upstream Service Agreements, Technical Services Agreements, and Global framework Agreements
- Unitisation and Unit Operating Agreements
Midstream Services
- EPC, EPCI and EPCM Agreements (pipelines and subsea facilities)
- Gas Storage and Regasification Agreements
- LNG Master Sales Agreement
- Gas Transportation Agreements
- Crude oil supply and swap agreements
- BOO, BOT and BOOT Agreements (construction and operation of oil refineries)
- LNG Transportation Agreements
- Financing agreements and shareholders agreements
- Licensing Applications: Pipelines, Storage, Operation and Regasification
Downstream Services
- Sale of Business and Sale of Shares Agreements
- Third party access and user Agreements (pipeline and/storage)
- Supply, marketing and offtake Agreements
- Operating and Retail Agreements
- Bunkering Agreements
- Distribution and Licensing Agreements
- Acquisitions and disposal of oil and gas facilities and interests
- Applications for wholesale, retail and site licences and reporting obligations
Oil and Gas Advisory
- Project Structuring and Strategies
- Opcomm and Operator Processes
- Drilling Op HSSE Registers
- Local participation
- LNG project advisory services, regulatory processes and Agreements
- Regulatory Compliance and Reporting Opinions upstream, midstream and downstream
- Structuring/re-structuring of government entities and regulatory authorities in the oil and gas sector
- Tax advisory opinions on rollover treatment, royalties, funding obligations (cash calls), transfer duty implications, double taxation jurisdictions
- Development funding, government support packages and mezzanine financing
Knowledge Management, Training and Skills Transfer
- Knowledge management is an important aspect of our approach at We invest substantially in our information management and know-how resources and make these available to our clients
- To assist clients navigating the complexities of the oil and gas industry we host a variety of value adding, high-level complimentary training seminars and workshops for clients on topical issues in the industry across all our practice areas
- We also offer training seminars and workshops tailored to our client’s projects and needs.
- Our training seminars help clients to develop their own teams, better understand opportunities and risks, and build their own capacity to further save costs and improve efficiency
- We keep our clients informed of proposed legislation and regulations affecting their in-country assets and potential acquisition of assets, and keep clients abreast of trends and developments in the industry through dedicated newsletters and alerts
Oil & Gas Brochures
Oil & Gas Guidelines
Services
Oil & Gas Legal Services
Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH) offers a dedicated and experienced Oil and Gas team who form an integral part of your oil and gas projects across the value chain. Our Oil and Gas team have unique and substantial legal expertise in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors. We advise major independent oil companies, national oil companies, service providers and regulatory authorities across the oil and gas value chain and in multiple jurisdictions.
Our team has a thorough understanding of the geographic and geopolitical factors that shape and impact the oil and gas industry and we offer valuable commercial insight to clients embarking on oil and gas projects, in both developed and emerging markets, worldwide. Our breadth of experience, acting for clients in both the public and private sectors, means we have a comprehensive approach to structuring transactions in order to address the complex economic and political goals of participants in the oil and gas sector. Our lawyers combine intricate knowledge of the oil and gas sector with your unique business realities in order to achieve your desired results.
By choosing our Oil and Gas team as trusted advisors, clients gain access to practical regulatory advice, advanced contract engineering and seasoned contract negotiators.
Due Diligence Investigations and Reports
- Title and regulatory compliance due diligences on oil and gas assets
- Entry level requirements for a foreign IOCs or NOCs
- Multi-jurisdictional corporate acquisitions relevant to the acquisition of upstream, midstream and downstream interests
- In preparation for drilling, IPOs, or in anticipation of farm-out/s
- On Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative obligations, compliance requirements and reports
Upstream Services
- Upstream M&A Transactional Agreements (FOAs, Asset Sale and Purchase Agreement and Participating Agreements)
- Joint Operating Agreements
- Drilling and Drilling Support Services Agreements
- Field Development Agreements
- Front-End Engineering Design Agreements
- FPS Design, Build, Charter and Operate Agreement
- EPC, EPCI and EPCM Agreements (pipelines and subsea facilities)
- Gas Sales Agreements and Gas Balancing Agreements
- Crude Offtake Agreements and Lifting Agreements
- Seismic Acquisition and Well Services Service Agreements
- Multi-client Agreements
- Applications for hydrocarbon permits, rights, licences and concessions, renewals and transfers
- Host government instruments - Rights, Permits, Licenses, PSA’s and hybrids, Risk Services, Pure Services, Technical Assistance Agreements and/or Buy-back Services Agreements
- Area of mutual interest Agreements, Study and bid group Agreements
- Third party operator Agreements, Upstream Service Agreements, Technical Services Agreements, and Global framework Agreements
- Unitisation and Unit Operating Agreements
Midstream Services
- EPC, EPCI and EPCM Agreements (pipelines and subsea facilities)
- Gas Storage and Regasification Agreements
- LNG Master Sales Agreement
- Gas Transportation Agreements
- Crude oil supply and swap agreements
- BOO, BOT and BOOT Agreements (construction and operation of oil refineries)
- LNG Transportation Agreements
- Financing agreements and shareholders agreements
- Licensing Applications: Pipelines, Storage, Operation and Regasification
Downstream Services
- Sale of Business and Sale of Shares Agreements
- Third party access and user Agreements (pipeline and/storage)
- Supply, marketing and offtake Agreements
- Operating and Retail Agreements
- Bunkering Agreements
- Distribution and Licensing Agreements
- Acquisitions and disposal of oil and gas facilities and interests
- Applications for wholesale, retail and site licences and reporting obligations
Oil and Gas Advisory
- Project Structuring and Strategies
- Opcomm and Operator Processes
- Drilling Op HSSE Registers
- Local participation
- LNG project advisory services, regulatory processes and Agreements
- Regulatory Compliance and Reporting Opinions upstream, midstream and downstream
- Structuring/re-structuring of government entities and regulatory authorities in the oil and gas sector
- Tax advisory opinions on rollover treatment, royalties, funding obligations (cash calls), transfer duty implications, double taxation jurisdictions
- Development funding, government support packages and mezzanine financing
Knowledge Management, Training and Skills Transfer
- Knowledge management is an important aspect of our approach at We invest substantially in our information management and know-how resources and make these available to our clients
- To assist clients navigating the complexities of the oil and gas industry we host a variety of value adding, high-level complimentary training seminars and workshops for clients on topical issues in the industry across all our practice areas
- We also offer training seminars and workshops tailored to our client’s projects and needs.
- Our training seminars help clients to develop their own teams, better understand opportunities and risks, and build their own capacity to further save costs and improve efficiency
- We keep our clients informed of proposed legislation and regulations affecting their in-country assets and potential acquisition of assets, and keep clients abreast of trends and developments in the industry through dedicated newsletters and alerts
Brochures
Oil & Gas Brochures
Guidelines
Oil & Gas Guidelines
Oil & Gas Lawyers
Our Oil and Gas team has substantial legal expertise across the value chain.
Our Oil & Gas LawyersSECTOR HEAD
Oil & Gas News
More newsOil & Gas Thought Leadership
Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr’s Oil and Gas Sector is the legal partner of choice on your oil and gas projects across the value chain. We have unique and substantial legal expertise in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors and advise major independent oil companies, national oil companies, service providers and regulatory authorities in multiple jurisdictions, including Namibia.
Understanding the transitional provisions of the Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Act
In the high-stakes world of the oil and gas sector, few things cause more disruption than new legislation, and the recently assented to Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Act 23 of 2024 (Upstream Act) is no exception. The Upstream Act was introduced to separate the governance of petroleum resources from mineral resources, both previously regulated under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 (MPRDA). This separation signals a more focused, agile regulatory approach to petroleum and a clear sign to global investors that South Africa is determined to unlock its hydrocarbon potential.
Publication of the Draft Regulations of the Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Act for public comment
On 14 April 2025, the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Mr Gwede Mantashe, published the draft Regulations for public comment in GN.6123 GG.52507.
Market recognition
Our Oil & Gas and Projects & Energy team is externally praised for its depth of resources, capabilities and experience.
- Chambers Global 2022–2024 ranked our Projects & Energy sector in Band 4 for projects & energy.
- Chambers Global 2017–2021 ranked our Projects & Energy sector in Band 3 for projects & energy.
- The Legal 500 EMEA 2009–2023 recommended us in Tier 2 for projects & infrastructure.
- IFLR1000 2017–2022 ranked our practice in Tier 2 for project finance. IFLR1000 2019–2021 ranked our project development: oil and gas team in Tier 3.
- IFLR1000 2017–2022 ranked our practice in Tier 2 for project development: energy; and project development: infrastructure.
Market recognition
Our Oil & Gas and Projects & Energy team is externally praised for its depth of resources, capabilities and experience.
- Chambers Global 2022–2024 ranked our Projects & Energy sector in Band 4 for projects & energy.
- Chambers Global 2017–2021 ranked our Projects & Energy sector in Band 3 for projects & energy.
- The Legal 500 EMEA 2009–2023 recommended us in Tier 2 for projects & infrastructure.
- IFLR1000 2017–2022 ranked our practice in Tier 2 for project finance. IFLR1000 2019–2021 ranked our project development: oil and gas team in Tier 3.
- IFLR1000 2017–2022 ranked our practice in Tier 2 for project development: energy; and project development: infrastructure.