
May 15, 2025
It is tempting to reach for the LOGIC or FIDIC contract template for your next offshore wind project. These are well used and well understood. But, they were both designed for a different context. Is there a better approach?
In the absence of a recognized standard template contract or suite of contracts in offshore wind, there are different reasons for applying either LOGIC or FIDIC.
There are pitfalls to be considered when applying either of these approaches to offshore wind projects or other offshore energy projects:
One of the fundamentals of offshore contracts is the mutual hold harmless (MHH) regime. Head over to my previous blog on the subject of indemnities and MHH here. This is something that isn’t filtering through in Offshore Wind contracts based on FIDIC or NEC.
MHH is well understood in Oil & Gas contracts and the rationale is simple: the person that holds the insurance to cover that risk is (subject to certain exceptions) generally the person contractually responsible for that risk. That is the case, regardless of fault.
This helps in three key areas, as laid out in my previous blog:
Supply chain companies should also consider joining the Industry Mutual Hold Harmless (IMHH) scheme, which acts as a bridge between companies working on the same project and/or same area offshore where there is no direct contract between them, but provides an MHH between these companies. This has worked very well in Oil & Gas, but is at odds with the traditional onshore construction contracts and, in particular, collateral warranties. For the reasons mentioned above, the rationale for this is sound from an industry-wide and from an individual company perspective.
Insurance plays a key part in the offshore industry and insurance companies well-versed in offshore Oil & Gas and/or Wind projects will understand the positions on indemnities – be sure to liaise with your insurers before signing offshore contracts to ensure you are covered. It is also crucial to ensure subrogation rights are properly addressed to ensure indemnities are not undermined.
LOGIC shades it for me because it has been designed for the offshore environment. However, a more balanced approach would be more appropriate – one that uses elements of both LOGIC and FIDIC to create a proper fit-for-purpose contract in each case.
If you would like further information on the topic discussed in this blog, please contact Calum Crighton.
Email: ccrighton@gilsongray.co.uk Phone: 01224 011687 / 07841 920101.
You can also view Calum’s profile by clicking here.
LOGIC STANDARD CONTRACTS: https://www.logic-oil.com/standard-contracts
FIDIC STANDARD CONTRACTS: https://fidic.org/bookshop
NEC STANDARD CONTRACTS: https://www.neccontract.com/products/contracts
INDUSTRY MUTUAL HOLD HARMLESS: https://www.logic-oil.com/imhh
Calum is a Partner, heading up our Oil & Gas/Energy team. He is recognised as a leader in his field and well-respected for ability to advise all companies from oil & gas majors right through to SMEs, with a particular expertise in decommissioning.