Master Service Agreements are one of the most useful contracting tools in upstream oil and gas — but only when they are properly structured, negotiated and implemented into day-to-day contracting practice.

An MSA should do more than sit in a contract database. It should create a working framework for repeated service orders, purchase orders, call-offs, scopes of work, rate sheets, operational instructions and commercial approvals. When it is poorly drafted or badly implemented, the same risks return through the back door: inconsistent terms, uncontrolled exceptions, unclear order of precedence, liability gaps, payment disputes and operational teams using documents that do not properly connect with the agreed contract.

In this free class, Olga Labai will share practical lessons from implementing numerous MSAs in Weatherford’s Iraq operations, in various projects in the Middle East as well as in Mexico’s offshore projects, together with her wider upstream experience on both contractor-side and operator-side contracting. The class will look at how MSAs are used for oilfield services, procurement and more complex operational arrangements, including high-value deals such as rig rentals.

You will learn what to consider when structuring, drafting, negotiating and implementing an MSA — whether you are contracting with suppliers and contractors, or negotiating with clients. The focus will be practical: how to make the MSA work as a live contracting mechanism, not just as a signed legal document.

This class is suitable for procurement, contracts, commercial, business-development and technical professionals who already work with upstream contracts and want to understand how MSAs can improve contracting efficiency, consistency and risk control.