Expert
Practice

Expert Services

Expert Services Upstream Oil and Gas

We have been actively involved in upstream oil and gas arbitrations and equity determinations since the early 1980’s as an Expert Witness, Independent Expert, or Expert Advisor, and are experienced in the ICC, LCIA, SIAC, and UNCITRAL rules.

We have worked with four of the top five international arbitration law firms in the 2024 GAR* 30 ranking and have completed over 40 Expert projects in the last 10 years.

Our Expert team has ~150 years of combined experience and is supported by the wider ERCE organization with ~ 50 full time technical staff and a large pool of specialist associates representing all the skills and experience of an oil and gas company.

Our experience is global, in-depth, and multi-disciplinary including matters arising from:

  • On and offshore exploration, appraisal, and field development
  • Reserves assessment and production forecasting
  • Seismic modelling and interpretation
  • Equity determination
  • Standards of Good Oilfield Practice and Reasonable and Prudent Operatorship
  • Facilities, operations and costs
  • Commercial arrangements, fiscal regimes, and petroleum economics
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How We Can Help

Unitisation & Redetermination
Advisory for Unitisation
Expert Witness in arbitration
and court proceedings

Unparalleled Industry Experience

Our core Expert team has together over 150 years of worldwide industry experience in operating companies and consultancy giving them unparalleled insight into the issues that can form the basis for disputes.

A commitment to technical excellence, a thorough understanding of procedures, and the ability to critically evaluate points of argument, have made ERCE a successful Expert for their clients since the early 1980’s.

George Lawrence

Head of Expert Practice

Dr Jonathan Hull FGS

Chief Executive Officer

David Wilson

Chairman

Simon McDonald CEng SPEE

Founder, Director

Some Recent Cases

  • Expert witness in an ICSID arbitration concerning a State’s refusal to grant a licence to allow development to proceed.
  • Expert witness in an LCIA arbitration concerning earn out payments arising from Reserves above a certain threshold.
  • Expert witness in an ICC arbitration concerning matters arising from various operations carried out in an offshore oil field including in part whether good oil field practice was employed.
  • Expert advisor in a European field unitization
  • Expert advisor on tract participations for various fields in Central Asia.

Expert Services

Support that is Global, In Depth, and Multi-Disciplinary

ERCE has around 50 full time technical staff with all the skills and experience of an oil and gas company and is one of the largest European oil and gas Reserves auditors with offices in London, Kuala Lumpur, and Perth Australia.

Disciplines represented within ERCE include

  • Geoscience
  • Geophysics
  • Petrophysics
  • Petroleum Engineering
  • Facilities and Cost Engineering
  • Petroleum Economics

ERCE also has a large pool of associates with specialist technical and regional experience if required