Abstract
Hydrocarbon exploration and production activities are basic to the functioning of the oil and gas industry, while concession contracts and fees are central concepts in the aforementioned activities. The authors consider several questions regarding these concepts, such as: what is the legislative, institutional, and fiscal framework in certain European countries regarding hydrocarbon exploration and production? What are the major differences between them? Finally, is there room for improvement of the framework in the Republic of Croatia? To answer these questions, the authors contacted some of the relevant institutions and accessed official government gazettes, institution websites, legal aggregators, journal articles, books, and different legal publications regarding the oil and gas industry for several European countries, namely the Kingdom of Norway, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Austria, and the Republic of Croatia. As a result, this paper presents an overview of legislation, institutions, concession contracts, taxes, and fees for each of the aforementioned countries. The authors conclude that the Republic of Croatia could benefit from applying some foreign solutions in its own legislative and fiscal framework, i.e., using a sliding scale for royalty calculation and simplifying some administrative procedures.
Highlights
Hydrocarbon exploration and production activities are basic to the functioning of the oil and gas industry, while concession contracts and fees are central concepts in the aforementioned activities
Hydrocarbon exploration and production activities are basic to the functioning of the oil and gas (O&G) industry, which makes these activities important for all industries which depend on the O&G industry for energy and raw materials
The legal basis for issuing a concession for exploration and production of hydrocarbons by the Republic of Croatia is a logical structure whose foundation lies in the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia
Summary
Hydrocarbon exploration and production activities are basic to the functioning of the oil and gas (O&G) industry, which makes these activities important for all industries which depend on the O&G industry for energy and raw materials. Regulations and procedures for exploration and production are different from country to country in many ways. These regulations are based on some common principles, which makes it somewhat easier to compare different systems. This article gives a comprehensive and representative review of institutional and legislative frameworks, as well as fiscal terms, for exploration and production of hydrocarbons in the Republic of Croatia, the Russian Federation, the Kingdom of Norway, and the Republic of Austria, respectively. Austria has been chosen because of certain similarities to Croatia: it is a Central European country, a member of the European Union, it produces hydrocarbons from the Pannonian basin, and it produces a similar amount of oil and lease condensate as Croatia does
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