On the ratification of the Framework Agreement on the Institutional Framework for the Creation of an interstate Oil and Gas Transportation System

Home / RLA / On the ratification of the Framework Agreement on the Institutional Framework for the Creation of an interstate Oil and Gas Transportation System

Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated March 26, 2003 No. 396

To ratify the Framework Agreement on the Institutional Framework for the Creation of an interstate Oil and Gas transportation System, signed in Kiev on July 22, 1999.

 President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Framework Agreement (Unofficial translation) on the institutional framework for the creation of an interstate oil and gas transportation system

The States Parties to this Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the "Parties"), recognizing that safe oil and gas transportation routes to world markets will play an important role in the further prosperity and energy security of the Parties.; Aware that it is necessary to take into account all legal, technical, commercial, environmental and financial factors when making decisions on the transit of oil and natural gas and/or their refined products in cooperation with other interested States, as well as local and foreign companies investing in the exploitation of hydrocarbon resources; Observing the rules of the market economy in the oil and gas sectors, such as those applied in the EU countries, and wishing to contribute to the development of international rules and practices governing oil and gas transportation; aware that States play an important role in reducing investment and transit risks; Believing that the protection, promotion and treatment of foreign investments and investors in accordance with internationally accepted standards and norms of international economic law are appropriate measures for the development of the oil and gas transportation sector; intending to establish uniform rules and mechanisms to ensure the effective operation of interstate oil and gas transportation systems in accordance with norms and practices operating in the international oil and gas industry; Taking into account the principles proclaimed by the Energy Charter Treaty; agreed on the following:

Definitions and headings

1. In this Agreement, the terms have the following meanings:: I. Construction is the construction of new oil and gas transportation systems or any new section of such a system. II. The Emergency Committee described in paragraph 4 of Article 8 of this Agreement - a committee consisting of authorized representatives of all Participating Parties authorized to make recommendations on the coordination of all steps, measures and joint actions taken by the Governments of each Participating Party within their territories to ensure the safety and protection of facilities of the interstate oil and gas transportation system established under this Agreement in the event of events such as natural disasters, earthquakes, radioactive or chemical contamination, civil unrest, acts of terrorism or sabotage, criminal damage and other similar events. III. A joint project implementation form is a form of cooperation chosen by the Participating Parties to create an interstate oil and gas transportation system that provides for the performance of two or more separate functions by one legal entity or group of legal entities, as set out in Article 7 of this Agreement, or any other joint form. IV. The Interstate Committee, the term described in paragraph 3 of Article 8 of this Agreement, is a committee formed by authorized representatives of all Participating Parties, authorized, on behalf of and in the interests of these Parties, to monitor the implementation of their decisions on the creation of one or more oil and gas transportation systems. V. The interstate oil and gas transportation system is a system of transportation of oil or natural gas, and (or) products of their processing, crossing the territory of more than one state. VI. Maintenance - technical measures necessary to maintain an interstate oil and gas transportation system or any site or facility of such a system in proper working order, for the purpose for which this system is intended, in accordance with relevant technical and environmental standards and safety standards. VII. The body responsible for maintenance is a legal entity or group of legal entities established or selected in accordance with this Agreement for the purpose of performing the function of maintenance of the interstate oil and gas transportation system or any of its sections. VIII. Operation - all activities necessary for the continuous, uninterrupted, proper and efficient functioning of the interstate oil and gas transportation system in accordance with the relevant rules and regulations. IX. The operating authority is a legal entity or group of legal entities established or selected in accordance with this Agreement for the operation of the interstate oil and gas transportation system. X Other interested legal entities, the term referred to in Articles 3 and 6 of this Agreement, are the Competent Authorities described in Article 13 of this Agreement. XI. The participating Parties are the Parties through whose territory the interstate oil and gas transportation system, established in accordance with this Agreement, passes. XII. Practices and customs, terms mentioned in the Preamble and Article 3, are forms and methods of conducting specific technical, commercial and financial activities within a particular industry or market, established and generally accepted by specialists working in such industry or market. XIII. Project - planning and arrangements for the implementation of certain activities or activities within the framework of the interstate oil and gas transportation system established in accordance with this Agreement. XIV. Project management is the mobilization of the activities of a responsible multidisciplinary group that is necessary to carry out the entire project for the rehabilitation or construction of an interstate oil and gas transportation system, overseeing and coordinating actions related to the provision of engineering services, supply, technical supervision and control, construction management and the provision of a contract for such a project within the framework of the applicable objectives to the schedule work, quality requirements, and costs. XV. The project management body is a legal entity or group of legal entities established or selected in accordance with this Agreement to perform the project management function. XVI. The Project Management Body and the Operating Body may, in principle, be two different bodies involved in two different phases of the project - implementation and operation in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, unless the dual function of managing (before the completion of the project) and operating the project (after its completion) is assigned to one legal entity or group of legal entities. persons in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 6 of this Agreement. XVII. Protocol or Protocols - any subsequent agreement or agreements concluded between two or more Parties within the framework of this Agreement and in the process of its implementation in accordance with the basic principles, rules and procedures established by this Agreement, and subsequently attached thereto. XVIII. Rehabilitation is the restoration, reconstruction, repair, expansion or modification of any existing interstate oil and gas transportation system or any section of such a system. XIX. Framework Agreement - this Agreement, which establishes the necessary structure regarding the basic principles, rules and procedures for its implementation, as well as for the protection of any third parties operating within the institutional framework established by this Agreement. 2. The headings in this Agreement are intended to facilitate references and do not affect the interpretation of the provisions of this Agreement.

Article 1 General obligations

The Parties will cooperate within the framework of this Agreement in order to create, on the basis of mutually acceptable conditions, one or more interstate oil and gas transportation systems by rehabilitating existing oil and gas transportation systems, constructing, where appropriate, new interstate oil and gas transportation systems, as well as operating and maintaining these systems.

Article 2 Scope of application

1. To implement Article 1, the Parties agree to conduct or continue ongoing bilateral and/or multilateral negotiations with other Parties in order to determine in a separate Protocol which sections of existing or under construction interstate oil and gas transportation systems passing through their territories they want to integrate into one or more interstate oil and gas transportation systems. which will be created, maintained and operated in accordance with this Agreement, as well as which new sites they agree to build, to maintain and operate on their territory as components of the aforementioned interstate oil and gas transportation systems. 2. Without prejudice to the creation of connecting links between two or more interstate oil and gas transportation systems established in accordance with this Agreement, such transport systems can be considered as autonomous projects, the development, financing, rehabilitation, construction, maintenance and operation of which will be carried out in accordance with various technical, commercial, financial and environmental considerations.. Each Party may agree with the other Parties to establish more than one interstate oil and gas transportation system.

Article 3 Exploitation

1. Without prejudice to paragraph 2 of Article 7 and taking into account the need to provide rules ensuring the effective functioning of any interstate oil and gas transportation system established under this Agreement, the operation of any such system, by agreement of the Parties Involved, may be entrusted to a common Operating authority, which is established or selected in accordance with principles, norms and procedures. which will be negotiated and agreed upon with the Parties Involved and, if appropriate,, with other interested legal entities. 2. The operating authority may conclude a general operating Agreement with the Parties Involved and, if appropriate, with other interested legal entities, defining the principles and norms according to which the interstate oil and gas transportation system established by these Parties should be operated. 3. Without prejudice to article 7 and, unless otherwise expressly provided by the subsequent Protocol attached to the Agreement, the common Operating authority may exclusively provide transportation services to buyers and/or suppliers of oil and gas and any other legal entities that are entitled to such transportation services under a separate agreement, in accordance with the Oil Transportation Agreements and gas in compliance with international standards of the oil and gas industry.

Article 4 Rehabilitation and construction

1. Unless otherwise expressly provided by this Agreement, each Party, when implementing a decision of two or more Parties concerning the creation of one or more interstate oil and gas transportation systems, reserves the right and assumes responsibility to rehabilitate the existing interstate oil and gas transportation system crossing its territory and to build any new interstate oil transportation system. and gas crossing its territory, in accordance with national legislation, rules and regulations, operating in the territory of this Party. 2. The provisions of paragraph 1 do not deprive the Parties of the right to conclude other agreements with other Parties on the rehabilitation and construction of sections of the interstate oil and gas transportation system crossing its territories. To this end, two or more interested Parties may decide to entrust the design, rehabilitation and construction of facilities located within their territories to a legal entity or a group of legal entities established or selected in accordance with a joint decision of the Parties Involved. 3. In order to ensure the technical uniformity and efficient operation of one or more interstate oil and gas transportation systems created by more than one Participating Party, when concluding contracts for the rehabilitation and construction of domestic sections of one or more interstate oil and gas transportation systems in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2, such Participating Parties agree to apply agreed generally accepted technical specifications. which are internationally recognized in the oil and gas industry.

Article 5 Maintenance

1. The provisions of Article 4 shall equally apply to the maintenance of rehabilitated or newly constructed sections of one or more interstate oil and gas transportation systems in accordance with this Agreement. 1. The provisions of Article 4 shall equally apply to the maintenance of rehabilitated or newly constructed sections of one or more interstate oil and gas transportation systems in accordance with this Agreement. 2. In accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 3, when a common Operating authority operates an interstate oil and gas transportation system established under this Agreement and if the maintenance of such a system is entrusted to a legal entity or group of legal entities not part of the common Operating authority, In accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 3, when a common Operating authority operates an interstate oil and gas transportation system established under this Agreement and if the maintenance of such a system is entrusted to a legal entity or group of legal entities not part of the common Operating authority, as provided for in Article 3, the legal entity or group of legal entities The persons responsible for the maintenance of such a transport system work under the supervision and supervision of the general Operating authority., as should be explicitly defined by the Maintenance Agreement concluded on the basis of this article and the Joint Operation Agreement provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 3.

Article 6 Project management

1. When implementing their decision to establish an interstate oil and gas transportation system in accordance with this Agreement, the Participating Parties and, if appropriate, other interested legal entities may assign full responsibility for the development of a feasibility study for the project, design and supervision of the rehabilitation and construction of such an interstate transport system to the general Project Management Body, which It is created or selected by the interested Parties Involved and, if apWhen implementing their decision to establish an interstate oil and gas transportation system in accordawith this Agreement, the Participating Parties and, if appropriate, other interested legal entities may assign full responsibility for the development of a feasibility study for the project, design and supervision of the rehabilitation and construction of such an interstate transport system to the general Project Management Body, which It is created or selected by the interested Parties Involved and, if appropriate,, other interested legal entities in accordance winterested legal entities in accordance with mutually acceptable principles, norms and procedures that will be negotiated and agreed upon by the Parties Involved and, if appropriate, other interested legal entities. 2. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 7, nothing prevents the Participating Parties and, if appropriate, other interested legal entities from transferring the functions of the Project Management Body to a common Operating Body provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 3.

Article 7 Joint forms of project implementation

1. Taking into account the specific technical, commercial and financial requirements imposed on the creation of any separate interstate transport system in accordance with this Agreement, the Participating Parties may agree to transfer two or more functions, from those separately specified in Articles 3-6, to a legal entity or group of legal entities created or selected by the interested Parties, which is more detailed described in: (a) Paragraph 2 of article 4 in conjunction with paragraph 1 of Article 5 on the functions of rehabilitation (construction) and maintenance; (b) Paragraph 1 of Article 3 in combination with paragraph 2 of Article 5 on maintenance and operation functions; (c) Paragraph 2 of Article 6 on project management and operation functions; (d) Paragraph 2 of Article 6 in combination with paragraph 2 of Article 5 on project management, operation and maintenance functions. 2. The Pa

Article 8 Matters relating to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Parties

1. During the implementation of the decision to establish one or more interstate oil and gas transportation systems in accordance with this Agreement, the Participating Parties, through a separate Protocol, establish rules governing the application of the exclusive jurisdiction of each of the Participating Parties in their territory, as well as to individuals and legal entities operating in the territory, in relation to issues including social protection, labor legislation, construction instructions, licensing procedures, safety and health measures, fiscal and customs issues, as well as legislation on environmental protection, but not limited to, related to the design, rehabilitation, construction, maintenance and operation of domestic sections of the interstate oil and gas transportation system established in accordance with this Agreement. 2. Unless otherwise expressly stipulated by this Agreement or the subsequent Protocols attached thereto, neither Party will amend its national legislation to the extent that such legislation will worsen the conditions for the design, financing, rehabilitation, construction, maintenance and operation of the interstate oil and gas transportation system established in in accordance with this Agreement and the Protocols subsequently annexed thereto, after this Agreement and the Protocols annexed thereto enter into force. In the event of a discrepancy between the provisions of this Agreement or any Protocol annexed thereto and the national laws of the Parties, the provisions of this Agreement shall prevail. 3. The Parties shall cooperate in order to establish, through a Protocol subsequently annexed to this Agreement, an authorized Interstate Committee that will be authorized, on behalf of and in the interests of the Parties Involved, to monitor the implementation of their decision to establish one or more interstate oil and gas transportation systems in accordance with this Agreement. 4. The Parties shall cooperate in order to establish, through a Protocol subsequently annexed to this Agreement, an authorized Emergency committee that will make recommendations on coordinating all steps, measures and joint actions taken by the Governments of each Participating Party within their territories to ensure the safety and protection of facilities of the interstate oil and gas transportation system established under this Agreement, based on the case of events such as natural disasters, earthquakes, radioactive or chemical contamination, civil unrest, acts of terrorism or sabotage, criminal damage, and similar events. Such events, as well as the functions and powers of the Emergency Committee, will be determined by the Participating Parties for each individual interstate oil and gas transportation system established under this Agreement. 5. The Protocols subsequently attached to this Agreement are an integral part of this Agreement and are valid only for the Signatories of these Protocols.

Article 9 Environmental protection

During the implementation of this Agreement, the Parties agree to develop closer intergovernmental cooperation aimed at creating common institutions operating in accordance with international standards, such as those proclaimed by the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Treaty on Climate Change and the Energy Charter Protocol on Energy Efficiency and Related Environmental Aspects, taking into account local environmental conditions, the implementation of a common policies aimed at protecting the environment from any negative impacts, arising as a result of the design, rehabilitation, construction, maintenance and operation of one or more interstate oil and gas transportation systems established in accordance with this Agreement.

Article 10 Implementation into national legislation

1. The Parties to this Agreement shall take all necessary measures to incorporate and implement the provisions of this Agreement into their national legislation. 2. If this Agreement provides for or implies the adoption of a separate Protocol as a subsequent annex to this Agreement, such Protocol or Protocols shall be negotiated and agreed upon by the Parties Involved, taking into account the specific requirements for the implementation of any individual project developed under this Agreement. The incorporation and implementation of such a Protocol or Protocols into the national legislation of the Participating Parties is carried out in accordance with the relevant provisions of their Constitutions and legislation. 3. A Party may not invoke the provisions of its national legislation as justification for non-fulfillment of its obligations under this Agreement and the Protocols subsequently annexed thereto.

Article 11 State and interstate guarantees of fulfillment of obligations

Each Party guarantees the proper and timely fulfillment of its obligations under this Agreement and the subsequent Protocols attached thereto with respect to all other Parties, as well as with respect to any third party entering into a contract or agreement with this Party for the design, rehabilitation, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of the interstate oil and gas transportation system., created in accordance with this Agreement.

Article 12 Settlement of disputes

Any disputes arising between the Parties regarding the interpretation and implementation of this Agreement or subsequent Protocols attached thereto, as well as any disputes between a Party to this Agreement and any third party regarding the interpretation and implementation of any contract or agreement concluded between a Party to this Agreement and a third party for the purpose of implementing this Agreement and subsequent Protocols The issues attached to it are subject to resolution in accordance with the rules provided for in a separate Protocol developed by the Parties to this Agreement.

Article 13 Competent authorities

1. Each Party shall designate a national authority, agency, State-owned enterprise or any unit responsible, in accordance with domestic legislation and regulations, for the implementation of this Agreement in each of the sectors covered by this Agreement (oil and gas), and notify the other Parties accordingly. 2. The Parties accept and guarantee the obligations that will be assumed by these bodies in order to implement this Agreement and the subsequent Protocols attached thereto as their own obligations.

Article 14 Relation to other international treaties

1. The provisions of this Agreement do not deprive the Parties of their right to resort to other forms of interstate cooperation in the oil and gas transportation sector. 2. The provisions of this Agreement may not be interpreted as modifying or terminating any other international treaties in force in the field of oil and gas transportation, as well as other international treaties concluded between the Parties and other States, the purpose of which is partly or entirely to protect, promote and handle foreign investments emanating from these non-participating States on the territory of the Parties to this Agreement.

Article 15 Final provisions

1. This Agreement is open-ended. 2. This Agreement is open for signature from July 22, 1999 to January 1, 2000. This Agreement is subject to ratification by the parliaments or other authorized bodies of the signatory States. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Depositary. The Government of Ukraine is appointed as the depositary of this Agreement. 3. This Agreement shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date of deposit of the instrument of ratification by the Signatory State. This Agreement is open for accession from the date on which it closes for signature. The documents on accession are deposited in the Depository. For each party that submits instruments of ratification or accession after this Agreement has entered into force, this Agreement shall enter into force upon their submission to the Depositary. 4. This Agreement is governed by the general principles of international law, including the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

Article 16 Authenticity of texts

In confirmation of the above, the undersigned, being duly authorized to do so, have signed this Agreement in English and the official language of each Party. The English text will prevail in case of a discrepancy. This Agreement is deposited with the Depository and stored in its archives. Each Signatory State to this Agreement shall receive from the Depositary a valid copy of this Agreement. The depositary of this Agreement is equally obligated to transmit an authentic copy of this Agreement to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for registration in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations. Done at Kiev, on the twenty-second day of July, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine.

Republic of Armenia The Republic of Azerbaijan

Republic of Belarus Republic of Bulgaria

Georgia Republic of Kazakhstan

Kyrgyz Republic Republic of Moldova

Romania Republic of Tajikistan

The Republic of Turkmenistan Ukraine

Republic of Uzbekistan

Signed at Bucharest, on the nineteenth day of September, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine

 Republic of Albania

 Republic of Croatia

Signed in Skopje, the eighth day of October, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine.

 Republic of Macedonia

Signed in Kiev, on the thirtieth day of December, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine.

 The Republic of Belarus

Reservation of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the Framework Agreement on the Institutional Framework for the Creation of an interstate oil and Gas Transportation System1. The Republic of Azerbaijan hereby informs that none of the rights, obligations and provisions set forth in the Framework Agreement on the Institutional Framework for the Creation of an Interstate Oil and Gas Transportation System, and subsequently the Protocols attached thereto, will be applied to the creation, rehabilitation, construction, maintenance and operation of an oil and gas transportation system crossing it. the territory, if the Republic of Armenia is the territory of exit, transit or destination of such systems. 2. The Republic of Azerbaijan reserves the right to amend or cancel the provisions of paragraph 1 of this reservation at any time, and will notify the other parties in writing of such changes or cancellations.

 Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan

This document contains 12 numbered, bound, and stamped pages.

I confirm that this is an exact copy of the text of the Framework Agreement on the Institutional Framework for the Creation of an Interstate oil and Gas Transportation System.

 Head of the Legal Department

Kiev 08.02.2000 RCPI's note: The English text is attached below.

President

Republic of Kazakhstan

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