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 and is regularly rated as a leading practitioner in Chambers and other publications. Best Lawyers' named Gerard as the 2017 Mining Law Lawyer of the Year for Perth, the 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: Energy & Resources Law Association (formerly known as AMPLA), and is a past Branch President and AMPLA board member. He has also represented Allens on the Australia Papua New Guinea Business Council, and is a contributing editor to the International Energy Law Review.
Gerard is admitted to practice in Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Papua New Guinea.
Gerard has advised clients on projects in Papua New Guinea for more than 30 years.
His experience includes advising:
- CITIC Group: for more than 14 years, Gerard has led the Allens team advising CITIC on the more than $12 billion Sino Iron Project in Western Australia. This work has included a series of business-critical disputes in the Supreme Courts of Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland, the Federal Court and High Court, as well as 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: on its upstream onshore and offshore oil and gas interests in Australia and Papua New Guinea over almost 30 years, including project development scenarios, a gas agreement to be entered into under section 184 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: on a series of structural changes over more than 15 years affecting its wholly-owned and joint venture product sales, marketing and transportation arrangements for the sale of bulk commodities to customers in Asia;
- Concession agreements: on numerous concession agreements 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 BHP Billiton's 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, renewal of its special mining lease, and on associated governance, constitutional and shareholder agreement changes;
- a leading regional precious metals refiner and its predecessor entities: on template and customer-specific refining agreements, review of distributor agreements, advice on Indian refining issues, the unwinding of a Papua New Guinea refining joint venture, major gold and silver supply arrangements, restructuring and partnership exit arrangements, on metal transaction agreements and on the refinery lease;
- Rio Tinto: on the proposed BHP takeover transaction, the sale of the Cowal gold project, the sale of the Kintyre uranium project, establishing the Beasley River (iron ore) Joint Venture, advising on its Asian marketing arrangements and various procurement projects including mobile mining equipment, fuel supply and water supply;
- Argyle Diamonds: on 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 and Court proceedings in relation to the State's response; and
- The participants in the PNG LNG project: on long-term sale contracts with foundation customers for the US$15 billion PNG LNG project.