The Legal Status of Petroleum Development Agreements in International Law and the Problem of Characterization: A Proposed Way Forward

State contracts involving foreign direct investment (FDI) for the development of upstream petroleum resources have for long posed a particular legal challenge with reference to their legal and regulatory framework, especially in the event of a dispute. Notionally governed by principles of public international law, various other sources including national administrative law, contract law, public law, and peremptory norms jus cogens of public international law all converge within the framework of petroleum development agreements to vie for supremacy in the prioritization of applicable norms as the substantive governing law. It is against this background that the procedural question of characterization plays a key role in determining questions of jurisdiction and choice of applicable law. This study sets out to critically analyze the characterization of upstream petroleum development agreements whilst critically inquiring into the relationship between national public and private law in the characterization process.