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This article is a study of upstream petroleum contracts from Shi´a Islamic jurisprudence perspective. The article establishes that it is possible to define principles governing upstream contracts according to Shi´a Islamic jurisprudence and analyze them in the realm of petroleum industry. These principles are considered as the red lines in the conclusion of foreign contracts. The principles studied in this paper are: principle of negation of the way, expediency principle, preservation of oil and gas ownership, intergenerational justice, protection of the environment (principles of no harm and no waste).