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This chapter examines contracts concerned with petroleum investments. It argues that the law applicable to resolving disputes under such contracts depends crucially on whether the contract is made subject to international arbitration instead of the ordinary procedure of litigation in the courts of the host country. It shows that the choice of international arbitration not only carries practical significance, but is also bound to shape the required attitude towards the applicable law as a matter of principle. The legal framework of international arbitration acts as a displacement of the normally “closed” operation of the host country's law, and entails that law operating at a variety of levels, including international law, becomes essential to the outcome of any dispute under the contract.