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About PCERA

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PCERA is a not-for-profit company, established to coordinate and facilitate the resolution of disputes in the energy and resources sectors and related industries by way of arbitration and other innovative and specialised methods of alternative dispute resolution

WHAT WE DO

PCERA provides the institutional framework for energy and resources dispute resolution, including:

  • Acting as an appointing authority.
  • Maintaining a panel of expert resources arbitrators, comprised of advocates, professional arbitrators, and industry experts drawn from Australia and Australia’s major international trading partners including parties from Asia.
  • Making arrangements for the necessary facilities to conduct arbitration hearings.
  • Providing administrative assistance to the tribunal.
  • Offering a modified version of the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules tailored to the resolution of energy and resources disputes.
  • Offering the option of a unique consultative expert resolution process where each party appoints an expert who together work on a solution.

PCERA handles disputes relating to all aspects and stages of a project’s life.

In the exploration and project development stages, this includes disputes concerning the following:

  • Exploration (including prospecting and exploration licences and permits).
  • Infrastructure supporting energy and resources projects (including access issues for railways and highways, and water, gas, and electricity pipelines).
  • State agreements.
  • Project feasibility matters involving venturers, investors and financiers.
  • Financing (for both projects and associated infrastructure).
  • Construction.
  • Product liability for products used in energy and resources projects.

For established projects:

  • Sales contracts for oil and gas, iron ore, coal, gold, nickel, alumina and all other commodities (including spot market sales and long term contracts, both domestic and international).
  • Supply of chemicals and energy and other products needed in the mining, extraction or refinery processes.
  • Debt collection and payments.
  • Security for payments, such as letters of credit and bonds.
  • Gas and electricity pricing.
  • Royalties.
  • Port, shipping and admiralty matters, such as access, payments, demurrage, delay/lay-time, charter party problems and collisions.
  • Joint venture issues involving partners and managers.
  • Derivatives concerning commodity sales, such as swaps.
  • Force majeure events affecting projects and supply.
  • Corporate governance and change of control for partnerships and companies in the energy and resources industries.
  • Mine and field closure issues, including environmental and remediation liabilities.

 

Download the PCERA Schedule of Fees.

HOW WE DO IT

All PCERA approved arbitrators are leaders in their respective fields, and are committed to doing things the PCERA way by reference to the PCERA Arbitration Principles. The Principles are stated in a living document subject to ongoing review and development.

PCERA is committed to ongoing development of its dispute resolution processes through research and an annual conference of its members. In collaboration with the University of Western Australia, PCERA arranges education events and forums for its members to discuss cutting-edge developments in the field of international arbitration.

PCERA ADVISORY COMMITTEE
PCERA BOARD

Kanaga Dharmananda is a Senior Counsel doing commercial work. He acts in arbitrations in and outside Australia, having advised on disputes arising in connection with projects in Australia, India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, PRC, South Africa, and elsewhere. Kanaga teaches International Commercial Arbitration and International Investment in Mineral Resources at the University of Western Australia. He holds law degrees from the University of Western Australia, Oxford, and Harvard.

Michael Feutrill is a barrister who practices in the field of commercial and corporate dispute resolution. He has also practiced as an advocate with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s international arbitration group in Paris. He acts in domestic and international litigation and arbitration including disputes concerning joint-ventures, energy and resources in Australia, Europe, Russia, South Korea and Africa. Michael is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Western Australia law school where he co-teaches International Commercial Arbitration and International Investment in Mineral Resources. He holds degrees in economics and law from the University of Western Australia.

Dr Natalie Skead is an Associate Professor and Dean of the Law School at the University of Western Australia (UWA). Dr Skead holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Law from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. She was admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa where she practiced law from 1990 specialising in corporate finance and securities.

Dr Skead joined the UWA Law School in 2002. She completed her doctorate on the confiscation of proceeds of crime at UWA and publishes extensively in areas of private law, confiscation of proceeds of crime and legal education. Dr Skead has won numerous faculty and university teaching and research awards and was awarded a national citation for her outstanding contribution to student learning in law in 2011.

PCERA MEMBERSHIP

PCERA invites law firms, energy and resources companies, in house counsel, counsel, arbitrators, academics, and other practitioners to join PCERA as members. There are different categories of membership.

PCERA has benefited from the support of a number of Foundation Members. Information about PCERA’s foundation members will follow.

JOIN NOW

PCERA is committed to providing tailored and cost-effective services for the energy and resources sectors and for participants in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

PCERA Arbitration Principles

PCERA has developed a living document which sets out principles for the effective and efficient resolution of disputes by arbitration. These principles are born of experience and practical application, and are designed to reflect practices that work in the context of the energy and resources industry. The principles are subject to ongoing review and refinement through a process of consultation and engagement with industry participants.

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Collaborative Expert Resolution

PCERA has created a new form of alternative dispute resolution called Collaborative Expert Resolution. Employed at an early stage in the proceedings, CER involves the appointment of an independent expert assessor for each party, drawn from a panel of expert legal assessors maintained by PCERA. Once appointed, the experts work together and in consultation with the parties to identify the range of outcomes or points of principle at the heart of the dispute, and then reach a common view on how the dispute can best be resolved.

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PCERA ARBITRATORS

PCERA has identified a number of individuals across the globe who have experience in the energy and resources industries, or within a discipline relevant to the industries. These individuals have a reputation for approaching matters in a way that is decisive but flexible, and efficient but fair.

The identified arbitrators come from a variety of jurisdictions, legal traditions, and countries, including China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, France, Switzerland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and, of course, Australia.

When a party seeks the assistance of PCERA to nominate an arbitrator, or to appoint a chair, PCERA will consider the nature of the dispute and make appropriate recommendations drawing on its existing knowledge and the experience of relevant members of PCERA’s Advisory Committee.