Oil price risk, expropriation and bilateral investment treaties

Johannes Stroebel, Arthur van Benthem, 21 October 2012

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The sharp increase in the oil price between 2003 and 2008 brought back a phenomenon commonly observed in the 1960s and 1970s. Countries are expropriating assets of independent oil companies – directly with large unexpected windfall taxes. Countries with recent expropriations include Bolivia, Ecuador, Algeria, Russia, China and Venezuela.

Topics: Energy, Politics and economics
Tags: bilateral investment treaties, expropriation, oil