Allens

Oil & Gas

Our expertise in the oil and gas sector is based on a long history of working on a wide range of projects and transactions throughout our 30 years in the Asian region. Our role as an adviser to many energy and resources companies, banks and regional governments has given us considerable depth of experience in project development, M&A and financing in the oil and gas industry.

We advise on all aspects of oil and gas projects, including on:

  • petroleum concessions and Production Sharing Contracts;
  • exploration arrangements;
  • investment structures (including farm-ins and joint ventures);
  • project development;
  • project financing;
  • tax and other fiscal arrangements;
  • mergers and acquisitions;
  • debt and equity;
  • corporate governance;
  • sale and offtake agreements;
  • transportation agreements;
  • services and equipment supply;
  • construction contracting;
  • public international law (in particular, resolution of maritime boundary disputes);
  • climate change;
  • insurance; and
  • disputes (including arbitrations).

We are experienced across the spectrum of oil and gas projects, whether involving conventional gas, coal bed methane or unconventional sources, and involving drilling and production, gas processing, pipeline development, petrochemicals and LNG development and trade. We are sensitive to the issues facing the different types and phases of oil and gas development. Our recent experience includes:

Masela FLNG Project, Indonesia
Advising Inpex (the sole operator of the Abadi gas field in the Masela block in the Arafura Sea in Maluku Province in Indonesia) in relation to the development of a ground breaking floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) plant. This FLNG plant is expected to commence production of LNG in 2016 and will be designed to be capable of delivering 4.5 million metric tonne per annum of LNG for 30 years.

Wheatstone Liquid Natural Gas project, Australia
 Advising Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) on its proposed participation in the Wheatstone Liquefied Natural Gas project offshore of Western Australia.

Chevron sour gas project, China
 Acted for Chevron on the acquisition of 49 per cent interest in the Chuandongbei sour gas project from PetroChina. The Chuandongbei gas development area covers nearly 2,000 square kilometres in the Sichuan province and has an estimated resource base of five trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

ConocoPhillips coal seam gas acquisition, Australia
Advised ConocoPhillips on its $9 billion acquisition of a 50 per cent stake in Origin Energy's coal seam gas business.

North West Shelf project, Australia
Advised North West Shelf Gas in relation to gas supply and transportation issues and matters, including a long-term LNG sale and purchase agreement with Tohoku Electric in Japan and more recently the first contract for sales of Australian LNG to Korea.

Pluto LNG project, Australia
Advised Kansai Electric Power Company on an agreement with Woodside for the supply of LNG from Woodside's Pluto gas field on the North West Shelf. This $12 billion project is set to be the fastest developed LNG from discovery of the gas field in April 2005 to the production of the first gas in 2010.

PNG LNG project, PNG
Advising ExxonMobil on a US$10 billion-plus transaction to develop PNG's first LNG project. This has involved securing a fiscal and legal agreement on the project with the PNG Government. The project will be the biggest of its kind in PNG and one that is capable of quickly doubling the nation's gross domestic product.

Shell coal seam gas acquisition, Australia
Advised Shell on its US$612 million acquisition of 30 per cent of Arrow Energy's Australian upstream tenements and US$125 million investment in 10 per cent of Arrow's international operations. This transaction represents Shell's first significant investment in the Australian coal seam gas sector.

PT Pertamina (Persero), Indonesia
Acting for PT Pertamina in the negotiation of the extension to the multi-billion dollar Western Japan Buyers LNG sales contracts for LNG supplied from the Mahakam PSC area, including the joint marketing arrangements between Total Indonesie, Pertamina and BPMIGAS.

Senoro-Donggi downstream LNG development, Indonesia
Advised PT Medco E&P Indonesia on the monetisation of natural gas produced from the Senoro Field operated by Joint Operating Body Medco and Pertamina. This is the first downstream LNG project in Indonesia following the 'unbundling' principle between upstream and downstream oil and gas activities introduced by the Indonesian Oil and Gas Law.

Bayu-Undan natural gas development, East Timor and Australia
Advised Santos and Inpex in connection with all aspects of the US$3 billion Bayu-Undan project, including pipeline documentation, LNG documentation, review and preparation of operating and management agreements and international law advice in connection with the East Timor/Australia joint petroleum development area.

Transportasi Gas Indonesia, Indonesia
Acted for TGI in the negotiation of its key gas transportation contract with ConocoPhillips (on behalf of the Corridor Block PSC contracts) for the supply of gas from the Corridor Block to Chevron Pacific Indonesia for its enhanced oil recovery project in North Sumatra.

Nam Con Son gas project, Vietnam
Acted for BP plc on all aspects of this US$1.4 billion dollar project, which involved investment agreements with government and partners, supply and construction contracts in relation to offshore facilities, a 270 km gas pipeline, onshore facilities and onshore pipeline.

PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (Persero), Indonesia
Advised in relation to PGN's restructuring and privatisation options and on the financing of the phase 1 and 2 South Sumatra to West Java gas transmission pipeline project.

Offshore production sharing contracts, China
Advised BG Group on its strategy for acquiring deep water acreage in the South China Sea. Our work included assisting in the drafting and negotiation of the terms of BG's production sharing contracts with CNOOC and the establishment of BG's business in China.

Santos's acquisition of petroleum interests, Vietnam
Advised Santos on its strategy for entering the upstream petroleum industry in Vietnam, including the negotiation of production sharing contracts with PetroVietnam covering two offshore blocks, joint operating agreements and acquisition of interests.

BHP Billiton Petroleum, offshore blocks, Malaysia
Advised BHP Billiton Petroleum on aspects of its successful bid for two deepwater exploration blocks offshore Malaysia (Sabah), including on potential competing maritime claims.

Santos, Indonesia
Advised Santos in relation to its petroleum operations in Indonesia, including the Oyong, Maleo and Jeruk developments. We have also acted for Santos as operator on the development of the Sampang PSC in East Java.

Bach Ho associated gas project, Vietnam
Acting for British Gas, we negotiated investment contracts for a joint venture between British Gas and PetroVietnam to extract liquids from associated gas produced in the Bach Ho (White Tiger) oil field.

Medco acquisition of Novus Petroleum, Indonesia
Advised PT Medco Energi Internasional Tbk, Indonesia's largest independent oil and gas company, in relation to its successful off-market takeover bid for all of the issued ordinary shares in Novus Petroleum Limited.

Gas pipeline project, Singapore
Advised PowerGas, a subsidiary of Singapore Power that operates the Singapore section of the Indonesia to Singapore gas pipeline, in its complex negotiations for a gas transportation agreement with Island Power Company in connection with the proposed Island Power Project, including submission to regulators and advice on Singapore and Indonesian access issues.

CITIC, China
Advised CITIC in Beijing on the acquisition from foreign investors of a participating non-operating interest in an oil field in the PRC and the subsequent on-sale of the interest to an offshore listed entity.
Block 120/121 off Da Nang, Vietnam – Assisted BHP Billiton Petroleum regarding to various aspects of the production sharing contract in relation to this acreage.

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