Licences-Concessions or Licence Header contains the basic information on a Licence, PSC, or Concession that is actively licenced for research, oil and gas exploration, production, geothermal or some renewable energy purposes. They represent the overarching contractual framework governing an oil and gas asset, encapsulating the legal and administrative metadata of a licence agreement. They serve as the primary record, detailing the exploration or production contract’s lifecycle—such as its issuance date, duration, status (e.g., "current" or "inactive"), and original terms, including work obligations or commodity rights. The Licence Header remains stable even when equity shifts occur within the same licence, preserving the agreement’s integrity despite consortium changes - that change is captured by the Licence Area. The Licence Header also contains known applications and areas in Force Majeure.
[Force Majeure is a legal clause commonly embedded in oil and gas contracts, that excuses a party from performing contractual obligations when unforeseen, uncontrollable events occur. It occurs when a licence activity is paused or stagnant due to external events often caused by geopolitical issues (like war, pandemics, hurricanes…) . This serves as a safeguard, allowing operators or licensees to suspend operations, delay production, or defer payments without breaching agreements]
Licence Areas or sub-area contains other parts of a licence such as unitised area of field areas. These can have their own operator and partnership distinct from the Licence Header. They typically encompasses distinct phases of exploration, production levels, or specified commodities as outlined in the overarching agreement. Partnership equities may evolve over time due to consortium shifts, necessitating updates to the corresponding licence area to reflect new ownership stakes.
Licence Owners includes a licence area for each partner on the licence and their associated equity.