The 25th Int. Petroleum Tax Conference 2014

Welcome to the 25th International Petroleum Tax Conference!

The organising committee are pleased to present the programme for the 2014 International Petroleum Tax conference. We extend a warm welcome to delegates attending for the first time and appreciate the continuing support of those returning to the conference again this year. The 2014 conference will be the 25th since the inaugural event back in 1990. Since then the reputation of this conference has grown way in excess of initial expectations, both domestically and increasingly overseas.

The Oslo conference is now the leading such event in the Industry both in terms of delegate numbers, quality of presenters and the  breadth of institutions/organisations they represent. This is only possible through the continuing support of the delegates many of whom return faithfully each year; the organising committee is particularly grateful to this sustained commitment. To mark this notable anniversary the conference has been designed around the theme of a 25 year fiscal retrospective. Many of the speakers will address the changes in the fiscal landscape in Norway and further afield during this period, the underlying causes and consequences for Industry and Government. During the panel debate at the end of Day 1 we would welcome contributions from delegates on this topic and the panellists will be invited to comment on what might be expected over the next 25 years.

We also in the 2014 conference continue the theme of inviting speakers from leading global institutions which contribute to and shape the global tax policy debate. Building on those from the IMF and OECD in last year’s conference we are pleased to welcome speakers from the World Bank and the United Nations in 2014.

To open Day 1 of the conference we are delighted and honoured to welcome the Norwegian Minister of Finance, Siv Jensen, to address the conference on the subject of Petroleum Fiscal Policies in Norway. She will also be uniquely placed to offer her views on the exemplary performance of the Petroleum sector in Norway over the last 25 years and the priorities and challenges for the next 25.

The ‘Board room’ speaker this year will be Torstein Sanness from Lundin which has benefitted from outstanding success in Norwegian waters in recent years. Lundin are well placed to offer insightful views on the challenges and opportunities in the Norwegian sector from the perspective of a leading independent.

To complete the pre-lunch programme we are pleased to welcome Statoil’s chief economist, Eirik Wærnes, who will present his views on global trends in the Industry. To follow we welcome Pedro Van Meurs, no doubt known to many of the delegates, who continues   a distinguished career as an advisor and educator on upstream fiscal regimes. Pedro will be able to offer unique insights into the evolution of fiscal regime design as he has played a pivotal role in shaping many of these trends himself.

For the afternoon sessions we turn to examine recent fiscal developments in Denmark and Greenland by Ove Hindhede from PWC. To be followed by an examination of the status of recent developments and trends in international tax policy by Chris Sanger from EY. The penultimate presentation on Day 1 is from Richard Stern at the World Bank who will educate the conference on the fiscal policy priorities as seen from this leading institution.

To conclude Day 1 we have arranged a panel debate to explore in more detail the fiscal developments in the North Sea and beyond over the last 25 years and what challenges remain to be addressed in the next 25. In addition to previous speakers we welcome to the panel Professor Alex Kemp from the University of Aberdeen. Professor Kemp continues to be the leading authority on the UKCS and recently completed a seminal work on the history of the UK North Sea based on unprecedented access to Government records. The panel debate presents a unique opportunity to listen and question leading independent figures who have made a distinctive and continuing contribution to the fiscal policy debate

Day 2 of the conference commences with a presentation on co-operative compliance from Dave Hartnett who until very recently was head of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the UK. This is followed by Michael Lennard from the United Nations who will present the UN perspective on fiscal policy and its importance in developing countries.

We will also, commencing by mid-morning, delve into the familiar review of topical fiscal issues impacting the Norwegian sector in more detail.

The 25^th International Petroleum Tax Conference provides a unique opportunity to hear from acknowledged experts in the fiscal and energy field on current Industry trends and challenges. For the 25^th conference we have arranged a new venue, the Grand Hotel in downtown Oslo. The outstanding conference facilities in this hotel present a congenial setting to promote extensive networking with colleagues from Europe and beyond.

We look foreward to seeing you 4-5 November at Grand Hotel, Oslo.

On behalf of the conference committee

Frode Bøhm
Chair