International Energy

Holland & Knight's International Energy Practice provides legal and business advice to energy industry clients around the globe, assisting clients in more than 80 countries on six continents.

We have counseled a wide range of energy industry clients for more than a century, and our attorneys represent multinational and independent oil and gas companies, state-owned energy companies and sovereign governments, renewable energy companies and many others in the development of energy projects and the negotiation of commercial agreements, as well as the full spectrum of energy transactions.

Our lawyers have a wealth of experience in complex international energy arbitration cases and have used their insight and deep industry knowledge to successfully resolve disputes for clients in arbitral bodies throughout the world.

Overview

For more than 120 years, we have counseled oil, gas and energy industry clients – those who explore, develop, produce, finance, store, market, transport and process energy resources. Holland & Knight's International Energy Practice provides legal and business advice to energy industry clients around the globe, and our attorneys have assisted clients in more than 80 countries on six continents.

The firm's attorneys provide a "comprehensive understanding of international oil and gas law."

– Client testimonial, Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" 2021 guide

To the world's energy industry, our international team is a formidable resource for legal and commercial assistance. The firm's clients include multinational and independent oil and gas companies, host government oil and gas companies, renewable energy companies, private power plants, energy industry service giants, refineries, petrochemical companies, financial institutions, and multinational drilling contractors and construction companies.

Holland & Knight's International Energy attorneys advise clients with regard to:

drilling and service agreements, farmouts and joint operating agreements, project and multilateral financing, seismic agreements and offtake arrangements
global expansion through the identification, negotiation and capture of oil and gas assets and companies
complex acquisitions, divestments, trades and mergers
large infrastructure projects, including engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts, oil and gas development projects, pipelines, refineries and liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects
the negotiation and drafting of host government granting instruments, including production sharing, concession, license, service, joint venture and joint operating agreements
natural gas and LNG sales, pipeline financing and construction, and other infrastructure, decommissioning and abandonment issues
the development and preparation of legal and contractual regimes for host governments and national oil companies
unitizations and boundary disputes
multilayered international commercial and investment treaty arbitrations involving upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas issues
issues involving U.S. sanctions, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), U.S. anti-boycott laws and import-export controls
global energy and project finance

Experienced International Energy Counsel

Attorneys in our International Energy Practice bring a vast array of diverse experiences to bear when representing energy clients in the international context, including:

years of in-depth, practical industry experience as external and in-house counsel for major international energy companies
active participation in, including chairing or co-chairing, numerous model form drafting committees for the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN): joint operating agreement, accounting procedure, studying and bidding agreement, farmout agreement, confidentiality agreement, secondment agreement, and unitization and unit operating agreement drafting committees, as well as in the drafting of numerous other model form agreements
experience acting as arbitrators in both commercial and investment treaty arbitrations

Representative Engagements

Representation of Indonesian state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina in the US$1.75 billion acquisition of ConocoPhillips' Algerian Business Unit, ConocoPhillips Algeria Limited
Representation of Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corp. in the US$1.02 billion acquisition of oil and gas assets in Oklahoma from Chesapeake Energy Corp.
Representation of the U.S. subsidiaries of two Asian oil and gas companies in their US$1.1 billion acquisition of offshore Gulf of Mexico properties
Representation of Fisterra Energy, a subsidiary of The Blackstone Group, in the US$900 million sale of the Mexican holding companies of Ventika, Mexico's largest onshore wind farm and one of the largest wind farms in Latin America
Representation of Samsung C&T, a Seoul-based construction, engineering and trading unit of the Korean conglomerate, in its approximately US$800 million purchase, along with Korea National Oil Corporation, of Texas-based Parallel Petroleum LLC
Representation of a subsidiary of one of the largest conglomerates in South Korea in its US$300 million purchase of producing assets (operated) and non-producing assets in Oklahoma from two different sellers as well as its US$60 million purchase of non-operated working interest in the Permian Basin from a separate seller
Representation of a Spanish solar power developer in its US$134 million sale of a 90 percent interest in two solar power projects in Mexico representing approximately 251 megawatts (MW) of nominal capacity
Representation of an Indian state-owned oil company in the US$85 million acquisition of a 50 percent interest in a Cypress-based wholly owned subsidiary of a U.K.-traded company based in Ireland
Representation of a Spanish multinational oil and gas company in the acquisition of a floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel for use in the Gulf of Thailand
Representation of an Australian-based diverse mineral resource development and exploration company in its acquisition of an 80 percent participating interest in offshore Blocks A2 and A5 in The Gambia from a Houston-based publicly traded exploration and production company
Advised an energy company on the acquisition of an interest in a 100-MW-plus wind project in Japan, including negotiation of the joint venture agreement
Representation of a Chinese energy company in the acquisition of a significant acreage position in Mongolia
Representation of a Chinese national oil company in the US$42 million sale of interests in certain offshore midstream assets to a subsidiary of a publicly traded natural gas processing and transportation company
Advised the buyer on the acquisition of ownership interests in a 115-MW wind project in operation in Chile
Representation of a Chilean energy enterprise in connection with an acquisition of oil blocks in the South American and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) regions from a Korean company
Advised on the acquisition and financing of ground mounted and rooftop solar energy plants in Italy representing 18 MW
Advised on the acquisition and financing of 201 MW of renewable energy operating plants in Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic; the portfolios acquired include eight operating wind farms in Austria totaling 161 MW and operating solar sites in the Czech Republic and Slovakia totaling 40 MW
Representation of Finland-based Neste Oyj on its acquisition of Mahoney Environmental and a minority stake and licensing arrangement with Alterra Energy
Representation of a global oil and gas company in connection with negotiations with a European private equity fund regarding the acquisition of an interest in a U.K.-based offshore wind project

Representation of a host of companies in significant unitizations, including the Zama project in Mexico
Representation of an Argentinian provincial oil and gas company in attracting investment and drafting related contracts for one of the world's most high-profile developing plays; counsel included examination of current legal and contractual regime, providing recommendations on revisions to encourage oil and gas development, jointly developing a plan for moving forward, drafting a suite of oil and gas contracts, and assisting in organizing a roadshow to promote the client's tender
Representation of BHP Billiton Ltd. in the award and execution of the Trion Block deepwater license agreement in association with Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) – the first-ever farmout with Pemex in history – where BHP Billiton Ltd. secured operatorship and 60 percent interest of the areas covering the Trion Block, located south of Mexico's maritime border with the United States
Representation of Petronas in the award and execution of two deepwater license agreements, one in partnership with Sierra Offshore Exploration and another in partnership with Murphy Sur, Ophir Mexico and Sierra Offshore Exploration
Representation of Infinity Oil & Gas Inc. in the award of oil and gas concessions covering 1.4 million acres off the Nicaraguan coast, which is especially significant because it was only the second time in recent history that a foreign company had been awarded an offshore exploration and development contract in Nicaragua
Representation of a state-owned energy company in its negotiations with respect to an LNG facility in South America
Representation of a global Spanish power company in the bidding process called by the Mexican Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) for the construction of a 600-kilometer pipeline
Representation of a subsidiary of one of the largest global oil and gas companies regarding its downstream/retail/fuel distribution strategy and implementation in Mexico
Representation of CNOOC Ltd. in the award and execution of two deepwater license agreements, Block 1 and Block 4 in the Perdido Fold Belt, as a result of Round 1.4 conducted by Mexico's National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH)
Representation of major oil companies in the Caribbean offshore
Representation of several Spanish consortiums and global solar companies in the first and second long-term power auctions called by Pakistan's National Power Control Center (NPCC)
Representation of a major Argentine gas transportation company in the evaluation, planning and implementation of natural gas pipeline projects in Mexico
Representation of Kosmos with its development of the Jubilee Unit, West Cape Three Points Block and Deep Water Tano Block off the coast of Ghana
Representation of a publicly traded company focused on LNG production, distribution and fueling services in the formation of a joint venture with a Mexican investment group to pursue distributed natural gas production and distribution assets throughout Mexico
Representation of an Indian state-owned energy company in a US$95 million joint venture with a U.S.-based oil and gas company for a 20 percent working interest in roughly 20,200 net acres located in LaSalle County, Texas, targeting the Eagle Ford Shale, which was the first time the client invested in the U.S. oil and gas industry
Representation of a publicly traded exploration and production company based in Australia, in the formation of an Area of Mutual Agreement with a subsidiary of the Chinese national oil company, covering multiple blocks in West Africa
Representation of a subsidiary of one of the world's largest manufacturers of chemicals and oil products in executing a complex downstream transaction for the construction and operation of a plant-within-plant methionine manufacturing facility jointly developed and owned by two Japanese conglomerates and located within the company's acrylonitrile facility in Texas
Representation of a state-owned energy company with regard to a significant petrochemical facility in India, including sourcing the ethane feedstock
Representation of a Korean-based multinational conglomerate in two farm-in agreements in Ireland and the Faroe Islands
Representation of a global oil and gas company in connection with negotiations with a European private equity fund regarding a joint venture concerning the development of an Australian-based offshore wind project
Represented a major U.S. independent power producer in the acquisition of majority interests in two biomass projects in Israel
Representation of a Portuguese company focused on waste-to-energy technology and solutions in connection with the sale of its Mexican subsidiaries that are developing two waste-to-energy projects, which have secured biogas rights in connection with the underlying projects
Representation of Transportadora de Gas Internacional in its US$880 million sale of a majority interest owned by The Rohatyn Group to Empresa de Energia de Bogota, a leading energy holding company in Colombia with interests across the electricity and natural gas sectors
Representation of TECO Energy in a series of related transactions in which the company sold all of its Guatemalan operations for a total consideration of US$227.5 million
Representation of Celsia SAS ESP in a wind farm project acquisition of Begonia Power SAS ESP (Projects Acacia 1, Acacia 2 and Acacia 3 in La Guajira) from RNV Trade Mark Company Ltd., Andre Pereira Fraga and Pedro Mejia Villa, which was Celsia's first wind farm project in Colombia

Representation of an independent U.S. oil and gas company in one of the first reserve-based lending transactions in Mexico's history with major French and Spanish financing entities for US$150 million
Representation of Brazilian startup Barra Energia Petróleo e Gás in its US$500 million funding by U.S. private equity group First Reserve (through its First Reserve Fund XII) for the new company to seek exploration and production opportunities in Brazil's oil and gas industry
Representation of EnCap Investments LP in its US$225 million investment in the formation of Sierra Oil & Gas, Mexico's first independent exploration and production company and one of the first private investments in Mexico oil and gas since 1938
Advised the sponsor on an US$82 million project financing of six solar projects in Uruguay totaling more than 70 MW, including the negotiation of EPC and operation and maintenance (O&M) contracts
Representation of the public-private partnership for the Municipality of the State of Aguascalientes in the US$140 million financing of a 78-MW solar farm, which will be used to serve public facilities, including the water treatment plant
Represented Japanese, French, Dutch and Danish lenders and financing parties in connection with the proposed financing of the approximately US$2.5 billion Cape Wind offshore wind project
Representation of Mitsubishi Union Bank N.A. (MUFG) and TMF Group, who acted as collateral agents in connection with the US$8.7 billion financing of Engie's acquisition of TAG, Brazil's largest gas pipeline company (LatinFinance Project and Infrastructure Awards, "Oil & Gas Financing of the Year")
Representation of Oak Creek Energy Systems Inc. in the development, project finance and sale of the first two construction-ready stages of its Tres Mesas wind projects to funds managed by Goldman Sachs and Corporativo GBM (IJGlobal Latin American "Wind Deal of the Year")
Represented Stoneway Group/Araucaria Energy, an energy sponsor operating in Argentina, as issuer in connection with its US$500 million Rule 144A/Regulation S project bond offering, which is one of the first greenfield power generation project bonds issued out of Argentina in more than 25 years, and was underwritten by Jefferies and Seaport Global; the transaction also included a related US$115 million loan transaction from Siemens Finance to finance equity in the structure (Siemens is also the EPC contractor on the four projects being financed) and an additional equity investment by energy developer SoEnergy (Project Finance International Latin America Deal of the Year)
Advised JBIC for the financing of the Altamira II project for the construction, operation and maintenance of 495-MW combined cycle gas plants sponsored by EDFI and Mitsubishi in the amount of US$450 million (Project Finance International Latin American "Energy Project of the Year")
Advised as New York and Colombian counsel to Banco Santander, Banco Itau and Banco Davivienda in the approximately US$150 million multicurrency project financing for a power transmission project in Colombia
Representation of a major U.S. independent power producer in the development and financing of a solar project in Puerto Rico, the first completed with U.S. tax equity financing
Representation of the lead arranger in a US$250 million financing of the acquisition by Organización Terpel S.A. of the gas distribution business of Repsol YPF in Chile
Represented the lenders in connection with the financing of a portfolio of renewable energy projects to be located in Latin America, with an aggregate capacity in excess of 600 MW
Advised Energia Eolica S.A., an indirect subsidiary of ContourGlobal, in connection with a US$204 million green project bond to finance two wind power projects in northwestern Peru with a combined capacity of 114 MW, which was the first U.S. dollar-denominated green project bond issued in Peru
Represented the Argentinian province of Jujuy as issuer in connection with an international offering of a US$210 million green bond that co-financed a 300-MW solar project selected in the first round of the country's program for large-scale renewables (RenovAr); the financing complied with the Green Bond Principles (GBP) issued by the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA)
Counsel to the sponsor and issuer in connection with a mini-perm construction loan financing and tax-equity financing for a 20-MW ground-mounted, solar power plant in Puerto Rico
Representation of Joint Lead Arrangers and Lenders, in connection with the US$50 million secured term loan facility to Colombian project company for the refinancing of existing indebtedness related to a power project that supplies an Ecopetrol oil field in eastern Colombia
Representation of Central Térmica de Temane with a loan up to US$200 million loan to finance the development, construction and operation of a 420-MW power plant and 25-kilometer interconnection line in Mozambique
Representation of Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) in the US$115.5 million financing of Energética for the Energética Wind Project in Argentina, to help address significant electricity supply shortages, expand power generation capacity through the development of affordable renewable energy and diversify the country's energy supply; the project will support the development, construction and operation of a 100 megawatt (MW) wind power plant located near Tres Picos, Buenos Aires province
Representation of OPIC in the US$122.6 million financing of Vientos Neuqinos for the Vientos Neuqinos Wind Project in Argentina; Vientos Neuqinos will develop, construct and operate a 100.5 MW wind power plant located near Bajada Colorada, Neuquén province