---
title: "Oil and Gas Law"
url: "https://legal.ge/en/service/environmental-and-energy-law-en/oil-and-gas-law-570-en"
field: "Environmental & Energy Law"
description: "Oil and gas law in Georgia: state ownership of resources, contract forms, arbitration of disputes. Legal.ge."
reviewed: "2026-02-13"
updated: "2026-11-07"
publisher: "legal.ge"
---

# Oil and Gas Law

> Source: legal.ge, https://legal.ge/en/service/environmental-and-energy-law-en/oil-and-gas-law-570-en

## The Foundation of Oil and Gas Regulation

In Georgia, oil and gas operations, natural hydrogen operations and the processing of oil, the processing of gas or their transportation are carried out in accordance with the Constitution of Georgia, international treaties, the Law on Oil and Gas and other normative acts. The purposes of the law are the creation of a unified legal basis for the development of resources and processing activities, the promotion of investment and the protection of the lawful interests of participating subjects, the building of an effective basis for state regulation, supervision and control, the definition of the basic principles of contracts between the state and the investor, the determination of the functions of the national oil company and of the regulatory body, and the securing of third party access to means of transport. Every condition and requirement proposed for participation in a tender or auction must be grounded on this law and on the Law on Subsoil. For any investor, understanding this architecture is the starting point of every project in the sector.

## Ownership of Resources and Sovereign Rights

One of the foundational provisions of the law concerns ownership: the oil and gas resources and the natural hydrogen resources existing in the subsoil of Georgia are the property of the state. The right of ownership of land does not imply the ownership of, or the right to exploit, the resources existing in the subsoil of that land. Georgia possesses the exclusive and sovereign right to explore for and exploit the resources existing on its territory and its continental shelf. The right of ownership of extracted oil, gas and natural hydrogen is determined in accordance with the contract. Extracted status also attaches to oil, gas and natural hydrogen placed in an underground reservoir for storage, whereas resources returned into the reservoir for production purposes are considered part of the reserves and are not deemed extracted. This distinction is decisive for the distribution of production and for tax accounting.

## The Forms of Contract

The basic forms of the relationship between the state and the investor are the production sharing agreement, the risk service contract and the service contract; other types of contract are also possible alongside them. The agency is entitled to prepare and to apply model forms of these contracts. The preparation, signature and termination of a contract take place in accordance with the requirements of the law. The results of a tender are deemed cancelled if no contract is concluded within six months of the start of the negotiations, and where other minerals are discovered on the area the investor notifies the agency within 30 days.

The full text is available on legal.ge after signing in: https://legal.ge/en/service/environmental-and-energy-law-en/oil-and-gas-law-570-en

### What does the oil and gas law regulate?

The development of resources and processing activities: operations are conducted under the Constitution, international treaties and the legislation, and every tender or auction condition must rest on this law and the Law on Subsoil.

### Can a landowner extract the resources?

No — ownership of land does not include ownership or exploitation of the oil, gas and hydrogen resources in its subsoil. They are state property.

### How is ownership of extracted production determined?

By the contract; production placed in an underground reservoir for storage is deemed extracted, while production returned for operational purposes counts as part of the reserves.

### Where are disputes considered?

Disputes over land and immovable property — before a Georgian court by the location of the property; disputes with a foreign investor may also go to international arbitration under the contract.