MISHKOVICH MASHA

The article investigates the influence of acts of publicauthorities on the fulfillment of obligations under international oil and gas sales contracts. The author considers whether such acts may constitute hardships (force majeure) that can be invoked by contracting parties to exempt themselves from the fulfillment of contractual obligations or contractual liability. The article analyses arbitration and court decisions on disputes arising in this area since the 1970s.The issue became particularly relevant in 2022, when Presidential Decree of March 31,2022,No.172 «On Special Procedure for the Fulfillment by Foreign Buyers of Obligations to Russian Natural Gas Suppliers» was adopted. There is already the first arbitral decision on this issue,which has qualified this act as force majeure.The question of whether acts of public authorities constitute circumstances of force majeure in international oil and gas sales contracts is not unambiguous,as it depends on the circumstances of each specific case.In arbitrations where it was found that government actions about state-owned businesses couldn’t be considered a force majeure, the arbitrators looked at the terms of the contract and the way the risk of unforeseeable events was divided between the contracting parties.

The article discusses the theory of significant changes in the oil and gas purchase and sale contracts that violate the economic balance of the contracting parties. The author emphasizes that during the existing global energy crisis, the issue of significant changes in the oil and gas purchase and sale contracts is becoming particularly relevant. Such contracts are most often long-term contracts, and during their term, certain events may occur that entail a significant change in circumstances. Given that the contracts for oil and gas purchase and sale are «cascading» («pyramidal»), as they affect some other energy contracts, it is particularly important to address the issue of a significant change of circumstances in these contracts to preserve or restore the violated economic balance of the contracting parties. It is essential to determine a mechanism for eliminating the imbalance that arises in the event of a significant change in circumstances without terminating long-term contracts for the oil and gas purchase and sale since these contracts are critical for the contracting parties as well as for industrial enterprises and the general population.