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Gerard Woods

Gerard Woods

Partner

Perth

About Gerard Woods

Gerard has more than 35 years' experience advising energy and natural resources clients on some of the largest and most complex projects in Australia and the Asia Pacific region.

He is recognised by peers and clients as a 'very experienced, very commercial and proactive' adviser. He is regularly rated as a leading practitioner in Chambers and other publications. He was named as the Best Lawyers' 2017 Mining Law Lawyer of the Year for Perth; 2022 Natural Resources Law Lawyer of the Year for Perth and 2026 Oil and Gas Law Lawyer of the Year for Perth.

Gerard represents Allens on the WA State Branch of AMPLA Limited: The Resources and Energy Law Association, and is a past Branch President and AMPLA board member. He has also represented Allens on the Australia Papua New Guinea Business Council, and has been a contributing editor to the International Energy Law Review. Additionally, he is the Practice Director of the Allens Perth Office and sits on the Allens board. He heads up the Allens Perth pro-bono practice and is a former chair of the Allens Perth Office Reconciliation committee.

Gerard is admitted to practice in Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Papua New Guinea.

His experience includes advising:
  • CITIC Group: for more than 14 years, Gerard has led the Allens team advising CITIC on the >$12 billion Sino Iron Project in Western Australia. This work has included a serious of business-critical disputes in the Supreme Courts of WA, NSW and Queensland, the Federal Court, High Court and commercial arbitrations. The disputes span a range of issues including royalties, contractual disputes, port access and operations, site remediation, the exercise of an acquisition option, judicial review and project approvals and tenure. Gerard has worked closely with the client on strategy, government engagement and pathways to resolution
  • International oil company: advised on its upstream onshore and offshore oil and gas interests in Australia and PNG over almost 30 years, including project development scenarios, a gas agreement to be entered into under s184 of the Oil and Gas Act 1998 (PNG), fiscal stability arrangements and the tax treatment of current and planned LNG development projects
  • International mining house: series of structural changes over more than 15 years affecting its wholly-owned and joint venture product sales, marketing and transportation arrangements for bulk minerals to customers in Asia
  • Concession agreements: advising clients on numerous concession agreement with governments, including various iron ore State Agreements, the Bougainville Copper Agreement, the Ok Tedi Agreement, the Argyle Diamonds State Agreement, the PNG LNG, Papua LNG and P’nyang LNG Agreements, the Porgera and Lihir Mining Development Contracts, among others
  • Ok Tedi Mining: on the BHP Billiton exit from Ok Tedi in 2001, the 2011 share buyback from Inmet, mining equipment procurement, the proposed mine life extension project and new business opportunities including farm-in and joint venture arrangements, advice on the Ok Tedi Principal Agreement and the eleven supplements to that Agreement, nationalisation by the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, erodible waste rock dumps proposal, and on associated governance, constitutional and shareholder agreement changes
  • Gold Corporation and its predecessor entity, AGR Matthey: template and customer specific refining agreements, review of distributor agreements, advice on Indian refining issues, unwinding a Papua New Guinea refining joint venture, advising on its Cochlear, Panasonic and CathRX supply arrangements, on the AGR Matthey partnership dissolution, advising Treasury on metal transaction agreements and advising on the refinery lease
  • Rio Tinto: proposed BHP takeover transaction, sale of the Cowal gold project, sale of the Kintyre uranium project, establishing the Beasley River (iron ore) Joint Venture, advising on its Asian marketing arrangements and advising on various procurement projects including mobile mining equipment, fuel supply and water supply
  • Argyle Diamonds: restructuring its diamond sales arrangements, State Agreement advice, a large corporate simplification transaction, mine closure and decommissioning 
  • Barrick Gold: Porgera gold joint venture in Enga Province, Papua New Guinea, including advice in relation to its application for renewal of its special mining lease
  • The participants in the PNG LNG project: on long-term sale contracts for the US$15bn PNG LNG project.
Other Australian and regional matters
  • AngloGold Ashanti: US$1.1bn sale of its one third interest in the Boddington Gold Mine to Newmont
  • Asian oil and gas company: proposed acquisition of shares in a participant in a joint petroleum development area FPSO operation and proposed acquisition of an interest in an advanced exploration project in offshore WA
  • CITIC: Australian aspects of the acquisition by Hong Kong-listed CITIC Pacific Ltd of 100% of CITIC Ltd to become China's largest conglomerate with a market value of about $50bn. This deal was reported to be one of the largest M&A transactions of 2014
  • ETSA electricity privatisation: advising the State of South Australia on the privatisation by long-term lease of its electricity assets including transmission, distribution, generation and retail
  • La Mancha: advice on a range of legal issues affecting its White Foil and Frog's Leg projects in the Kalgoorlie region and its exploration interests
  • La Mancha Resources Inc: acquisition by the Sawaris Group of all the shares in La Mancha Resources Australia
  • Mid West Ports Authority: operations and maintenance contractual arrangements with service providers at key berths at the Port, structuring, financing and construction of a train unloader upgrade project at the Port and contract management and dispute resolution with certain port users
  • Mobil Australia Resources Company: legal issues arising from its interest in the Gorgon Project and adjoining Janz-10 fields
  • New participants in the mining and oil and gas sectors in Australia and PNG: investment and establishment of local operations
  • Newcrest and Harmony: options for the development of the Wafi-Golpu project in PNG
  • Newmont Boddington: various transactions with land and mining right holders in the region to acquire areas for increased mine infrastructure
  • PTTEP: part of the team advising on the Montara class action litigation in the Federal Court of Australia
  • State of South Australia: restructuring and privatisation of the state's electricity assets
  • StateWest Power: bid in connection with the West Kimberley power procurement project
  • Shell: on the restructure and divestment of its minerals business in Australia through the IPO of Acacia Resources Limited (now AngloGold Ashanti Australia Limited)
  • Various: domestic gas sale, transportation and storage arrangements in the Western Australian market
  • Various: restructurings and acquisitions and disposals of interests in oil and gas exploration and development projects in offshore WA, the Timor Gap, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea
  • Various participants in the resources sector: procurement programs for major items of mining equipment and associated tender process.
Additional Experience / Contributions

"Always thorough, thoughtful, and responsive, you work for an impressive organization" - CFO of international conglomerate

Gerard represents Allens on the WA State Branch of AMPLA Limited: The Resources and Energy Law Association, and is a past Branch President and AMPLA board member. He has also represented Allens on the Australia Papua New Guinea Business Council. He has also been a contributing editor to the International Energy Law Review.

Gerard is a board member of Allens. He is also the Practice Director of the Allens Perth Office.

Gerard heads up the Allens Perth pro-bono practice and is a former chair of the Allens Perth Office Reconciliation committee.

Gerard is a trustee of the Navy Clearance Diver Trust and a director of Navy Clearance Diver Foundation Limited.

Gerard is admitted to practice in Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Papua New Guinea.

PNG Experience

Gerard was a foundation member of our Port Moresby office and has practised PNG law, and advised clients on transactions and projects in PNG, for more than 25 years.

His experience includes project structuring, project development, joint ventures, farm-ins, share and asset sales, marketing and royalty arrangements and disputes across a range of commodities. Gerard is based in Perth but remains a partner in the Allens PNG partnership.

Gerard's experience includes:

  • PNG LNG project: advising the participants in the project on their LNG marketing arrangements and sale and purchase agreements with the project’s four foundation customers.
  • Independent State of PNG: advising on the restructure of its mining and oil and gas interests in the mid-1990s and the IPO of Orogen Minerals Limited.
  • Independent State of PNG: on the introduction of competition laws and regulatory reform of its compulsory third party motor vehicle insurance and harbours business.
  • Ok Tedi Mining Limited: advising on the BHP Billiton exit from Ok Tedi, the 2011 share buy-back from Inmet, mining equipment procurement and new business opportunities, and second extension of the Ok Tedi Special Mining Lease.
  • Porgera Gold Project: advising the operator and participants in the Porgera Gold project in the Enga Province of PNG on their the renewal of the Porgera Special Mining Lease and associates issues.
  • Other Oil and Gas Projects: advising participants in the proposed Papua LNG and P'nyang LNG project developments.
Perth Mint Experience
  • Perth Mint: advising on its refining agreements with gold producers in Australia, PNG and elsewhere in the region and implications of international tax treatment of the refining arrangements.
  • Western Australian Mint: advising on the restructure and winding up of the AGR Matthey Partnership which the Mint formally operated.
  • AGR Matthey: advising on free trade agreements and issues arising from changes to the Indian tax regime for gold imports and competition from Indian gold refineries, advising on legal and regulatory issues arising from the construction of an on site storage facility, advising on gold and silver purchase agreement with BHP Billiton Olympic Dam Corporation Pty Ltd, documenting terms and conditions of supply of componentry manufactured by AGR Matthey for cardiac catheters, drafting terms and conditions of manufacture and supply with Cochlear, advising on proposed changes to AGR Matthey's bullion insurance policy, strategic advice on the reported acquisition of management rights by a Singaporean company named Bestino Golden House (PNG) Pte Ltd in a refinery in PNG in which AGR Matthey had an interest and generally on the PNG exit strategy, drafting changes to its standard form refining agreement to introduce an environmental surcharge, advice on a draft manufacture and supply agreement for silver brazing alloy in wire form for use in refrigeration devices.