Entering A New Country - It's All About Identifying And Mitigating Risk

It is a major decision for a company to expand its business into a new country or global region whatever business sector they happen to be in. However, arguably for companies that operate within the natural resources sector, the risks are often more complex, more involved and certainly more numerous. And of the natural resources to be exploited, oil and gas tends to attract the most attention. That is not because it is any more invasive than large scale forestry or hard rock mining, it is almost certainly not. It is perhaps down to the fact that oil and gas reserves are generally viewed by many states as part of their patrimony, the wealth of the people and of the nation and should not be shared with foreigners any more than is absolutely necessary. This approach generally manifests itself in detailed regulatory controls, state participation and profit sharing, obligations to meet local content on material and supplies and in local employment quotas. More extreme cases