Energy

Working on the world’s largest IPO to date—the largest company by market capitalization on any exchange (US$1.7 trillion valuation) 
Advised the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) on its US$25.6 billion IPO—the world's largest IPO to date. The offering comprised three billion shares, representing 1.5 percent of Saudi Aramco's share capital, for gross proceeds of US$25.6 billion.

First hybrid corporate financing for development of an LNG project in Africa 
Advised the lenders on the landmark US$3 billion export credit agency (ECA)-backed hybrid corporate financing for Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) —a joint venture owned by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Shell, Total and Eni—to develop the NLNG Train 7 Project. This project sets the benchmark for future LNG facility financings globally.

Innovative royalty structure  
Advised Sixth Street Partners, LLC on a US$402 million overriding royalty interest (ORRI) transaction with Antero Resources Corporation, a company focused on exploration in the Appalachian basin.

Creating one of the largest independent E&P companies on the London Stock Exchange
Advised Energean Oil & Gas plc on its acquisition of Edison Exploration & Production S.p.A. (Edison E&P) for US$750 million, creating a multi-country multi-asset full-cycle E&P company. 

Creating one of the world's largest integrated chemical companies
Advised Saudi Aramco on its US$69.1 billion acquisition of a 70 percent stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.

State-of-the-art LNG facility on East Africa coast 
Advised the financiers on a landmark US$20 billion project financing of Mozambique’s first onshore LNG development, Mozambique LNG. The project is the largest- ever foreign direct investment into Africa and is a game changer for the Mozambique energy sector. The significant project debt raised from key export credit agencies, development finance institutions and international commercial banks is a testament to the confidence of the international markets in Mozambique’s oil & gas sector.

Occidental on the sale of its onshore assets in Colombia to The Carlyle Group 
Advised Occidental Petroleum Corporation on an agreement to sell its onshore assets in Colombia to The Carlyle Group for a total consideration of approximately US$825 million, with US$700 million upfront and the remainder payable subject to certain production and commodity price targets.

Noble Energy on major gas development project in Equatorial Guinea 
Advised Noble Energy on the development and monetization of the Alen gas field in Equatorial Guinea, West Africa. As part of the development of the Alen gas field, Noble Energy and its partners have entered into a series of agreements to process natural gas from the Alen field  through the existing Alba Plant gas processing facility and EG LNG's liquefied natural gas production facility located at Punta Europa, Bioko Island. Noble and its partners will install a 24-inch pipeline capable of handling 950 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day to transport all natural gas processed through the Alen platform approximately 70 kilometers to the onshore facilities at Punta Europa, Bioko Island. 

Delek Group on its US$965 million agreement to acquire Gulf of Mexico assets from Shell
Advised Delek Group on its agreement to acquire 22.45 percent of the Caesar Tonga oil field in the Gulf of Mexico from a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc for US$965 million. Located in the Gulf of Mexico, 300 kms south of Louisiana, the Caesar Tonga oil field is one of the ten-largest deepwater resources in the US Gulf of Mexico, with a production horizon spanning 30 or more years. 

First-ever reserve-based lending facility in Mexico 
Advised a syndicate of lenders to Petrolera Cárdenas Mora, S.A.P.I. de C.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Egypt-based Cheiron Petroleum Corporation, on the first-ever reserve-based lending transaction in respect of upstream oil & gas assets located in Mexico. The transaction is based on the EMEA reserve-based lending model, which has many features that are distinct from the North American reserve-based lending structure. The successful conclusion of this financing is a landmark transaction for the Mexican oil & gas sector, paving the way for future similarly structured financings for other independent oil & gas companies operating in Mexico and opening the door to certain liquidity options that were not previously available in the upstream space.

First-ever capital markets transaction for ADNOC
Advised ADNOC on the US$3 billion project bond in connection with ADNOC’s program to monetize its midstream assets and the acquisition of the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP). This transaction represents both the first capital markets issuance and the first project bond offering by a company in the ADNOC group. The bond issuance was one of the largest non-sovereign bond issuances in the history of the Middle East.

The largest London premium-listed IPO in 2018, the largest London oil & gas listing since 2014 and the largest-ever primary raise on a premium-listed oil & gas company IPO
Advised Energean Oil & Gas plc on its initial public offering (IPO) on the main market of the London Stock Exchange, which values the company at approximately £695 million (US$968 million). It follows our recent advice to the company on a significant project financing for its flagship Karish and Tanin offshore gas fields development project.

World’s largest energy corporations on a complex and high-value energy disputes
Advised several major gas buyers and sellers of gas in multibillion US-dollar disputes arising out of price renegotiations of long-term gas supply contracts in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Two of these have resulted in the largest settlements in European energy history, under long-term contracts involving deliveries of approximately 20 bcm per year each. The amounts at stake in these gas price reopener disputes ranged from hundreds of millions to billions of dollars. We advise these buyers and sellers during both the negotiations (which often last for six months or more), and in arbitration proceedings.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s first floating regasification facility
Advised Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) on a landmark liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification project located in Tema, Ghana. The project’s proposed technical configuration comprises a floating regasification barge, floating storage unit and a pipeline to an existing gas grid in Tema.

Refinancing of the world’s largest sub-sea pipeline 
Advising on the multimillion-euro bond issuance to refinance the commercial banks under Phase I and Phase II of the original €9 billion Nord Stream pipeline from Russia to Germany.

A market-changing commodities trading business acquisition 
Advised Vitol, Inc., the global energy commodities trader, and its subsidiary Vitol USA Holdings, Co., on its approximately US$1.4 billion acquisition of Noble Americas Corp., the North American Oil Liquids Business of the Noble Group Limited.    

Acquisition of the owner of the largest, privately held crude oil transportation system in the Midland Basin of West Texas
Advised Global Infrastructure Partners on its agreement to acquire Medallion Gathering & Processing, LLC (Medallion), the owner of the largest, privately held crude oil transportation system in the Midland Basin of West Texas. GIP acquired Medallion from sellers The Energy & Minerals Group and Laredo Petroleum, Inc. for a cash purchase price of US$1.825 billion plus additional cash consideration that is linked to GIP’s realized profits at exit. White & Case also advised GIP on the US$725 million of stapled debt financing provided by Jefferies LLC.

Guiding a national oil giant through its acquisition of control of the largest oil refinery in the US and strategic investments in Southeast Asia
Advised Saudi Aramco and its US affiliates on the separation and distribution of Motiva Enterprises LLC's assets, liabilities and businesses between Saudi Aramco and the other owner of the Motiva joint venture, Royal Dutch Shell PLC. This particular transaction involves the breakup of one of the largest, most expensive, productive and complicated oil & gas refining and marketing arrangements in the US—leaving our client, Saudi Aramco, to own the largest oil refinery in America. 

Freeport LNG—the largest-ever fully non-recourse construction project financing
Representation of Freeport LNG with respect to more than US$16 billion of cash equity, mezzanine debt, senior secured bank financings and project bond issuances in respect of the first three trains of the Freeport LNG multi-train natural gas liquefaction facility at Quintana Island, Texas. The individual trains comprising the facility are separately owned and financed by subsidiaries of Freeport LNG. To date, our representation has included: a US$1.2 billion negotiated joint venture between Freeport LNG and Osaka Gas and Chubu Electric in respect of train 1; a US$1.3 billion cash equity auction won by Industry Funds Management (IFM) in respect of train 2; a US$0.925 billion mezzanine financing in lieu of equity in respect of train 3; a US$4.369 billion export credit agency-supported debt financing in respect of train 1; a US$4.025 billion mini-perm commercial bank financing in respect of train 2; a US$3.64 billion mini-perm commercial bank financing in respect of train 3; and the issuance or private placement of US$2.3 billion of investment-grade project bonds to partially refinance the commercial bank financing of train 2. In addition, we represented Freeport LNG in the structuring and negotiation of the complex common project documents that underpin the development of the facility on a multi-owner basis. Our work for Freeport LNG on this landmark transaction was recognized by the Financial Times in its 2015 North America Innovative Lawyers Report in which our Firm won first place in the category of "Innovation in Legal Expertise: Enabling Clients' Business."