Oil and gas contracts are about risk and reward, complex partnerships and agreements.
Drafting contracts enforceable under English law requires considerable skill from energy lawyers.
This distance-learning course is designed to hone your skills and boost your career in this critical and complex area of law.
- Cover all the aspects involved in the law relating to risk allocation in oilfield contracts.
- Gain a comprehensive understanding of the issues at stake when developing these contracts.
- Learn to draft contracts that work for the industry and can be understood and enforced under the English legal system.
Study flexibly online with a top UK law school, wherever you’re based. Learn from expert lawyers and a university with decades of experience and influence in Europe’s energy capital.

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
You’ll cover all the areas involved in the law relating to risk allocation in oilfield contracts, including:
- the role of insurance
- public policy challenges
- gross negligence
- third-party issues and solutions
- limitations of different solutions
- different approaches in jurisdictions
- contractual interpretation.
By doing so, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of all the issues at stake when developing these contracts.
Why study Law online with the University of Aberdeen?
Study at a university with one of the largest and most internationally experienced teams of legal experts in any European law school.

Students love us
Our Law School ranks 5th out of 105 law schools in the UK for Overall Student Satisfaction (National Student Survey 2022).

Top 10 UK law school
We’re delighted to be ranked a Top 10 UK Law School by the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023.

20% alumni discount
University of Aberdeen alumni get 20% off this online course.
How you’ll study
Online learning
Risk Allocation in Oilfield Service Contracts is delivered part-time, 100% online. You can study with us anywhere in the world and manage your study hours to suit you.
This course is taught at Masters level.
Your teaching
Your 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
- reading materials
- the online resources of our award-winning Sir Duncan Rice Library and the Law Library
- discussion boards with colleagues and tutors.
Your tutors
You’ll learn from legal professionals at a university that’s home to one of the most experienced teams of oil and gas experts in any European law school, with the added value of direct industry input.
You’ll be assessed entirely online throughout your course via:
- short-answer questions (worth 50% of your total course grade)
- a practical written exercise (50%.
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.
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.
There may be some activities scheduled at a fixed time, such as online meetings with your tutor or assessments with deadlines. But 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 tutors 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:
- Careers and Employability Service
- Disability support
- IT support
- Library support
- Student Support Service – help with finances, stress, wellbeing and non-academic issues
- Student Learning Service – study support, with advice sessions available via phone or Skype
- Aberdeen University Students’ Association (AUSA) – run by students for students
- Toolkit – clever apps and free training that can make your study life easier
Wherever you are in the world, you’ll feel part of our very special Aberdeen learning community.
Your course coordinator

Dr Eddy Wifa
Eddy is a lecturer and active researcher in Energy Law. His expertise includes offshore health, safety and environmental regulation, decommissioning, energy and natural resource governance, energy transition and energy justice. Eddy has advised governments, is a member of the Society of Legal Scholars, and is Director of the African Natural Resource and Energy Law Network (ANREL).
View Eddy’s profileOnline learning in the School of Law
Advocates share their experiences of working while studying law online with us.
Where this will take you
Towards an LLM
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 LawBuild 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
This course will help you grow your expertise, contacts and career prospects within this demanding and highly technical field.
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
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
We welcome students from all over the world.
See the minimum entry requirements above. If you do not have qualifications from the UK, check equivalent qualifications from your country.
Visa requirements
You do not need a visa to study online with us.
Do you need to provide evidence of your English language proficiency?
Teaching is delivered in English.
We can assess your English language proficiency through your:
- nationality
- qualifications, or
- a recognised English language test.
Use our English requirements checklist to find out if we need to see evidence of your English language proficiency when you apply.
English language tests and scores
If you do need to provide English language test scores, these are the tests and minimum scores we accept.
These are our Postgraduate Higher requirements.
IELTS 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 International ESOL B2 Communicator (Written and Spoken)
- Overall High Pass
- 33 for listening, reading and speaking
- 38 for writing
PTE Academic (online test not accepted)
- 62 overall
- 59 for listening, reading, speaking and writing
For more information about language qualifications see our English Language Requirements page.
Apply as early as you can. This is so we have time to review your application and get a decision to you. We also want to ensure you have time to enrol before teaching starts.
January 2024 intake
Teaching starts on 22 January 2024.
Application deadlines will be announced in due course.
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 from 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 to your course 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 course 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 Masters 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