In recent years, complaints of unfairness on the part of host states in the renegotiation of international petroleum contracts have become commonplace at conferences and seminars in both the United States and Europe. Not so often discussed are the legal issues underlying the particular cases – simply repeating the mantra of pacta sunt servanda is not a discussion. Even less attention is paid to the facts, a point which is the focus of this article. Without an understanding of the fac...