Who's Who Legal interviews Maria Aybar, legal manager of the first ever natural gas liquidification plant in South America, PERU LNG. She discusses the requirements of her role and trends in the in-house legal market.

The International Who's Who of Oil & Gas Lawyers has brought together two of the leading practitioners in the world to discuss key issues facing lawyers today.

The Supreme Court of Iraq is currently considering the legality of the Rumaila oilfield contract awarded by the Iraqi Ministry of Oil to BP and China National Oil Petroleum Co (SINOPEC) in the first bidding round for oil and gas field development contracts in 2009.

Over the past years we saw a significant increase in commodity prices, but specifically during 2008, where oil prices rose above US$147 to an all-time record, as a result of several factors such as growing demand from the expanding BRIC economies, worries on oil supply, lack of stability in several oil-producing countries, and the decline of the US dollar, among others.

A common assumption today is that the Middle East has an abundance of readily available natural gas supplies; however, the reality is quite different.

The lawyers in this chapter predict that energy will be a major growth area in Brazil over the coming years, in spite of downward pressure in the world economy.

In times of economic uncertainty all eyes become fixed upon the price of oil. Consequently the past year has been an eventful one for the oil and gas industry, with crude oil prices reaching a record of $147 a barrel in July 2008 and dropping to below $50 just four months later.

International Players With Texan Roots

Of 54 US-based practitioners, our research identifies 25 individuals in the state of Texas, all but two of whom are based in the Houston offices of the state's most prestigious home-grown firms.

California is home to the world's second largest oil company, Chevron and other Fortune 500 energy companies including Occidental Petroleum, Sempra Energy and Calpine.

California is home to the world's second largest oil company, Chevron and other Fortune 500 energy companies including Occidental Petroleum, Sempra Energy and Calpine.

2008 has been among the most eventful years for the oil and gas industry since the 1970s.

The energy industry plays a major role in the Argentine economy. In the sector, Repsol-YPF is the largest supplier of natural gas and oil in the country with dominance in both the upstream and downstream sectors. Shell, ExxonMobil and Petrobras also play a significant part in the oil industry.

Hydrocarbons remain the predominant source of public revenue in the UAE, accounting for one-third of the country's gross national product. Government estimates indicate that the region's reserves account for roughly 9.5 per cent (98.2 billion barrels) of the world's crude oil and 4 per cent (5.8 billion cubic metres) of its natural gas. With this in mind it is unsurprising that a number of major international law firms have set up shop in the region, all 16 nominees in the following pages hail from subsidiary offices of multinational firms.

As previous chapters have mentioned, Singapore is an important regional hub in many fields. The situation is no different in the oil and gas sector – several of the eight lawyers we identify here are active in nearby countries, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,Thailand, and Vietnam. Our research also indicates that the large international players dominate the market, with practitioners from UK, US and Australian firms all appearing in this chapter.

Our research into the energy industry in California has identified 19 lawyers from 13 firms with an established record advising major, independent and state energy companies and utilities.