Knock-for-Knock Indemnities and their Application in Oil and Gas Contracts in Argentina

Abstract

Although knock-for-knock contractual indemnities (otherwise known as ‘mutual hold harmless’ or ‘bury your own dead’ indemnities) are common to oil and gas contracts worldwide, their usefulness in oil and gas contracts in Argentina (and in most Latin American countries to that extent) is not always fully understood. Failure to comprehend the extent and aim of these indemnities and their particular interplay with liability caps, consequential loss exclusions and insurance provisions will likely cause an incorrect evaluation on contractual risk. Additionally, recent oil rig disasters have put these clauses into the spotlight, and questions have been raised regarding their enforceability, especially in a civil law country such as Argentina.