Join our oil and gas contract law course and become confident in collaborative contracting.

  • Learn to form the legal agreements that make collaboration between oil and gas partners possible.
  • Study with a UK Law school with decades of experience and influence in Europe’s energy capital.

Co-operative Contracts in the Oil and Gas Industry is a cornerstone of our celebrated LLM in Oil and Gas Law. You can use the credits you earn on this short course towards this LLM qualification.

Study this core part of our LLM online, wherever you are in the world, with flexible hours that fit around full-time work.

Who can join this oil and gas contract law course?

This distance-learning course is designed for:

  • practising lawyers interested in oil and gas law, and
  • professionals in the energy industry looking for a route to career progression.

Build credits towards a Masters degree

This online course is part of:

You can use the credits you earn on this short course towards this postgraduate qualification.

What you’ll study

This course provides a detailed overview of the contracts that govern the commercial relationship between oil and gas companies when they form consortia to bid for and develop oil and gas assets.

The energy industry is a very competitive one – but it’s also highly collaborative. Oil and gas companies increasingly seek collaborative routes to exploration and production. When the costs of failure are so high, companies in this sector tend to spread their risk exposure across projects with a variety of partners.

You’ll learn what it takes to build the contracts necessary for these co-venturing partners to collaborate.

You’ll look at complex joint bids and the purpose and key terms of a range of agreements, including:

  • area of mutual interest agreements
  • confidentiality agreements
  • joint bidding agreements
  • joint operating agreements (JOAs)
  • unitisation and unit operating agreements (UOAs) – an extremely complex legal task, where parties collaborate in an oil or gas field that straddles two or more licensed areas.

JOAs are fundamental to oil and gas operations, both in the UK and globally, so the course covers key JOA issues in depth, including:

  • the entitlement to vote
  • what happens if the parties end up in fundamental disagreement about project development
  • what happens if one of the parties runs out of money and ends up in default.

You will learn from detailed discussion of a whole host of issues and challenges that this specialist area of law must grapple with.

Why choose the University of Aberdeen for online contract law courses?

Over 525 years of excellence

Join a university founded in 1495, where Law has been taught for more than five centuries.

Top 5 in Scotland for Law

We’re ranked Top 5 in Scotland for Law in two league tables (Guardian University Guide 2025 and Complete University Guide 2025).

Earn as you learn

We fit around full-time work, so you can earn qualifications while you keep earning a salary.

How you’ll study

Online learning

This distance-learning energy contract law course is delivered flexibly, 100% online.

You can learn anywhere, with no need for a study visa, and manage your study hours to suit you.

Your teaching

This course is taught at Masters level.

Teaching is delivered through MyAberdeen, our online Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It holds all the materials, tools and support you’ll need in your studies. Take a look around MyAberdeen.

You can access your learning materials on computer, smartphone and laptop, 24 hours a day. You’ll find a range of resources at your fingertips, including:

  • podcasts of lectures
  • videos
  • case studies
  • projects
  • reading lists
  • discussion boards with colleagues and tutors
  • the online resources of our award-winning Sir Duncan Rice Library and the Taylor Law Library.

Your tutors

This course is delivered by our School of Law.

You’ll learn from legal professionals highly experienced in collaborative contract law. Our School of Law is home to one of the most experienced teams of oil and gas experts in any UK and European law school.

This course is assessed entirely online.

You’ll have a range of online assessments during your course:

  • short answer questions (worth 10% of your total course grade)
  • short essay answers (20%)
  • writing a letter of advice (50%)
  • short answer questions (20%).

The course totals approximately 150 hours of study and assessment time. That’s around 10 – 15 hours per week.

This is an indicative guide to the time required for a typical student at this level to achieve the learning outcomes. This includes time for independent study, as well as teaching and assessments.

You can largely set your own study hours each week to cover the materials. MyAberdeen is available 24/7, so you can log in and study when it suits you.

Activities at fixed times

There may be some activities scheduled for fixed times. This could include coursework and assessments with deadlines, or online meetings with your tutor. Otherwise, you can access and work through the course at your convenience.

Our first-class support structure will ensure that you aren’t alone in your studies. You’ll have contact with your course coordinator throughout your course. This could be by email, MyAberdeen, online call, or phone. You can use social media and discussion boards to chat with your fellow students too.

We provide a wide range of services to support you in your studies and beyond:

Wherever you are in the world, you’ll feel part of our very special Aberdeen learning community.

Your course coordinator

Professor Greg Gordon

Greg is Head of our Law School. Prior to joining us as a Lecturer in 2004, he practised as a commercial litigator in Aberdeen and London, primarily in the oil and gas sector. Greg leads our LLM in Oil and Gas Law and is a local committee member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators.

View Greg’s profile

Online learning in the School of Law

Advocates share their experiences of working while studying online Law courses with us.

Where this will take you

Towards a Masters

You’ll earn 15 credits at Masters level (SCQF Level 11) with this course. You can use these credits towards our:

LLM in Oil and Gas Law

Our LLM in Oil and Gas Law has been producing outstanding energy lawyers for over a decade. Join the flexible, online version of this LLM and earn your Masters part-time, without taking a career break.

View LLM Oil and Gas Law

Build your learning with more short courses

We offer a wide range of specialist online Law and Energy short courses you can use to build your skills.

Many are part of existing Masters degrees and can be used to build up credits towards postgraduate qualifications.

Careers

The course will give you significant professional benefit as a lawyer with an interest in oil and gas law.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

Your employer or professional institute may recognise this course for CPD hours. Talk to your employer or institute to find out more.

Free career support

Access our free careers service while you study.

  • 1:1 appointments
  • CV checks
  • Interview prep
  • Job opportunities

See how our careers service can help you.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements

We welcome students from all over the world.

This course has no formal entry requirements. You do not need to provide proof of your qualifications.

But you do need to check the entry guidance above to understand the level of teaching delivered, to decide if this course is right for you.

If you do not have qualifications from the UK, check the equivalent teaching level for your country.

Visa requirements

You do not need a student visa to study online with us.

English language requirements

Teaching is delivered in English.

You do not have to provide proof of your English language skills to join this course. But we want to make sure that you can use English well enough to study successfully.

Recommended level of English

This course uses our Postgraduate Higher level of English language proficiency.

These are our Postgraduate Higher requirements, and these are minimum scores.

IELTS Academic, IELTS UKVI Academic, and IELTS Online (not IELTS Indicator or IELTS General Training)

  • 6.5 overall
  • 5.5 for listening and speaking
  • 6.0 for reading and writing

TOEFL iBT and TOEFL iBT Home Edition

  • 90 overall
  • 17 for listening
  • 21 for reading
  • 20 for speaking
  • 21 for writing
  • TOEFL DI code is 0818

Cambridge English: B2 First, C1 Advanced, or C2 Proficiency

  • 176 overall
  • 162 for listening and speaking
  • 169 for reading and writing

LanguageCert Academic/LanguageCert Academic SELT

  • 70 overall
  • 60 for listening and speaking
  • 65 for reading and writing

LanguageCert International ESOL B2 Communicator (Written and Spoken) – Online / In-centre

  • Overall High Pass
  • 33 for listening, reading and speaking
  • 38 for writing

Oxford ELLT Digital – English Language Level Test Online

  • 7.0 overall
  • 5.0 for listening and speaking
  • 6.0 for reading and writing

PTE Academic (online test not accepted)

  • 62 overall
  • 59 for listening, reading, speaking and writing

Duolingo tests taken from 1 July 2024 onward

  • 120 overall
  • 95 for listening and speaking
  • 105 for reading and writing

University of Aberdeen English Pre-sessional Programme (PSE)

  • Pass
  • Valid for one year. Refresher can be offered if out of date

Pre-sessional academic English preparation programmes undertaken at other UK universities

  • Pass at an equivalent of 6.5 (C1)
  • B2 in all four skills
  • Certification must be within one year prior to the start of your course

For more information about language qualifications see our English Language Requirements page.

You will need access to:

A computer (PC, laptop or Mac) operating on either:

  • Windows 10 or later
  • macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later.

Most teaching materials are smartphone- and tablet-friendly. But we recommend a proper laptop or desktop for completing assignments comfortably.

Reliable internet access

We recommend:

  • a wired connection
  • a minimum download speed of 2 Mbps so you can take part fully in live sessions.

Speakers or headphones

  • We recommend a headset with built-in microphone and earphones if you’re likely to study in an environment with background noise.
  • A webcam is optional, but you may like to use one for some interactive sessions.

Software

We’ll give you access to Office365 applications. This means you can use online versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and install these programs on up to five personal devices.

If your course requires specialist software, we’ll provide you with access to this and a licence that lasts throughout your studies.

See our detailed IT requirements for more information.

When you study with us, you can expect a first-class support structure so that you’re never alone in your studies.

But learning online does mean you have to motivate yourself and manage your own time.

Your most important commitment will be time – the time to work through, reflect on and understand your teaching materials.

Before you start a course that involves a high degree of independent study, we recommend looking at the time you will be able to devote to your studies each week:

  • Be realistic
  • Create a weekly schedule as a guide

If you have any questions about studying online, get in touch with our friendly team. We’re here to help.

Fee payment

Your course fee needs to be paid in full before you start your course.

We accept payment via Visa Debit, Visa Credit and Mastercard.

Ways to save

You may be able to get help funding this course via:

  • discounts – if any discounts are available for this course, they’ll appear in the section below
  • employer sponsorship – we accept full and partial fee payments from sponsors.

Find out more about funding options.

Student card

All our students are entitled to a University of Aberdeen student card. This gives you access to a range of student discounts around the city and online.

This course has no formal entry requirements. You decide if it’s suitable for you.

The course is delivered at LLM level. At this level, you’d usually have at least:

  • a 2:1 (upper-second-class) Law degree, or
  • relevant work experience that supports this level of study.

Apply for this course

Start date
22 September 2025
Cost
£1,355
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