INTERNATIONAL FIRMS FIRM BRIEFINGS Ashurst
2012 Firm Overview Active jurisdictions
Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Congo (Republic of), Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia
Highlight clients
Tullow Oil, Hercules Oil, Gold One International, Aeolus Kenya, Satarem
Key offices Brisbane, Hong Kong, London, Melbourne, Paris, Perth, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo
Most active disciplines
Equity capital markets, corporate and commercial, M&A, project finance, EPC
Key sectors Mining and metals, oil and gas, power, renewable energy, water, sewage and utilities
Law capability English, French, Spanish, US
Key partners
Ronnie King, Robert Ogilvy-Watson, Geoffrey Picton-Turbevill, Peter Roberts, Antony Skinner, Cameron Smith, Mike J Smith
Ashurst gets great reviews from clients in the oil and gas space and in renewable energy, especially in East Africa where it has recently been involved in developing the wind energy sector. The firm has a non-ex- clusive alliance with the ALN and a fruitful relationship with Chinese firm Guantao Law Firm. It is active in the ILFA programme and took secondees from 17 African countries in 2012. “My experience with Ashurst has been fantastic, they are very good
at what they do and the service they provide,” says client from an African government, recommending Peter Roberts and Geoffrey Pic- ton-Turbervill. They are “very good at capacity building with the client and training”. Ashurst “has been spectacular, can’t sing their praises enough,” says
another client, “I have great respect for the way they do things and they have a first rate alternative energy practice”. Antony Skinner and Mike J Smith (an ex-Siemens in-house) are highly praised for their PPA (power purchase agreements) and EPC expertise. Others praise Michel Lequien and Cameron Smith: “very efficient, lots of experience on con- tracts... fast and always responsive even under stress”.
Matters Ashurst was busy for Tullow Uganda, in one case acting in litigation against Heritage Oil over tax payments to the Ugandan government amounting to $314 million. The firm also appeared for Hercules Oil in ICC arbitration following withdrawal from a joint-venture agree- ment in Nigeria for the drilling of an oil well. Ronnie King and Tom Cummins played key roles. Roberts was active advising on commercial contracts, again for Tullow
Oil, in Ghana and Uganda, and for Angola LNG, while Robert Ogilvy- Watson led teams advising Chinese-state owned CGNPC Uranium Re- sources on its €708 million takeover of UK-listed Kalahari Minerals, along with a $2.6 billion financing for a uranium mining project in Namibia. Roger Davies acted for Gold One International on the Australian
aspects of its acquisition of Rand Uranium and subsequent majority sale to a Chinese consortium. Meanwhile, Skinner, Smith and George May were embroiled in a landmark project for Aeolus Kenya: the Ki- nangop Wind Farm. The firm was also working with Satarem on waste- to-energy projects spanning Guinea, Ivory Coast and Gabon.
Baker & McKenzie
2012 Firm Overview Active jurisdictions
Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Highlight clients
First Rand Bank, Deutsche Bank, Allianz Climate Solutions, Trafigura Beheer
Key offices London, Paris, Johannesburg, Rome, Chicago
Most active disciplines Litigation, company and commercial, M&A and joint-ventures, banking, debt capital markets and structured finance, project finance (energy, infrastructure, IPP), renewables finance, EPC
Key sectors
Mining and metals, oil and gas, power, renewable energy and clean technology, roads
Law capability English, French, Spanish, US, South African
Key partners Richard Blunt, Scott Brodsky, Neil Donoghue, Martijn Wilder, Jeremy Winter
Baker & McKenzie now offers over 150 lawyers on the ground in South Africa, Egypt and Morocco along with its global network. The firm’s strength is its global reach and local presence. For example, in 2012 it led an energy deal with finance and project capacity in Johannesburg, EPC lawyers from Chicago, construction partners from London and a compliance team from Washington DC. The South Africa office opened in May 2012 with the highly experi-
enced Dewey & LeBoeuf team and now manages pan-African deals out of the London and Johannesburg offices primarily, although its Australian and Asian networks feature highly. It boasts a large mining and metals team and environmental law practice and is well established for project financings. On the pro-bono side, the firm has been working with the Interna-
tional Senior Lawyers Project (ISLP) and key public representatives on petroleum law matters in Sierra Leone. It has also won numerous ac- colades from Petroleum Economist and MergerMarkets for its involve- ment in African energy and renewables deals.
Matters In 2012, Johannesburg based Gerhard Rudolph and Kate Daniels were representing an E&P client as a claimant in an arbitration relating to facilities in Malawi and Namibia, while London’s Jeremy Winter ap- peared for a Kenyan contractor in arbitration against the Tanzanian government concerning a road construction. Global Oil & Gas head Neil Donoghue was advising Sociedad Na-
cional de Combustiveis de Angola (Sonangol) on the $10 billion Sonaref Refinery Project, which, as part of a strategic plan by Angola, will convert heavy crudes into high quality fuel, diesel and LPG for do- mestic use and export. Melbourne-based John Mollard was acting for Syrah Resources on its acquisition of Jacana Resources and the devel- opment of projects in Mozambique. Marc Fèvre and Richard Blunt and Martijn Wilder were also active
in interesting projects in the DRC, Namibia, Gabon and Kenya, among other countries, advising governments and private companies on cor- porate, restructuring, PPP and environment and regulatory mandates.
10 ENERGY & INFRASTRUCTURE | SUB SAHARAN AFRICA 2013
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