Challenges in the Assignment of Upstream Oil and Gas Contracts in the Iranian Legal System.

The assignment of a contract is referred to as the situation where the contract status of one of the parties is transferred to a third party that is considered alien to the contract being assigned. Given the specific conditions of oil and gas upstream contracts, and their compliance with public law principles besides the rules of private law, the assignment of such contracts should be taken into account considering their inevitable challenges. Focusing on the current regulations and conducting a comprehensive study of scientific texts, the present study identifies and discusses important challenges such as the commitment to comply with the host government's specific laws, the effect of the contract party's personality at the oil and gas upstream operations, the problems caused by the public ownership of the oil and gas resources, the requirements for an efficient and well-planned production, the need for transfer of knowledge and technology, compliance with the environmental requirements and public order restrictions in the assignment of the upstream oil and gas contracts with the aim to observe these considerations during the assignment of such contracts.