Philip Stopford is head of the London Energy, Infrastructure and Project Finance Group and head of the WEMEA Project and Infrastructure Finance Group and has more than 25 years' experience in international projects, including preparation of concession agreements, tender documents, construction, finance and security documents and other contract drafting and negotiation. 

He has represented developers, contractors and lenders in a number of project financings involving LNG plants, upstream and downstream oil and gas facilities, refineries, motorways and power facilities and under a number of different structures, including BOT, BOO, trustee borrowings and other limited recourse.

Philip has substantial experience in representing parties in international commercial transactions including the establishment of joint ventures for lube oil manufacturing facilities in the Middle East; domestic investors in Indonesia in connection with licensing and distribution agreements with US manufacturers and the establishment of joint ventures for the production of industrial gases in Indonesia.

Representative transactions include:

• Representation of the Sponsors in connection with the financing of the US$6 billion Qatargas 4 LNG Project;
• Representation of the Sponsors on the US$11.2 billion Qatargas II LNG project in Qatar;
• Representation of the international and Nigerian arrangers in the US$1.06 billion project financing for the expansion of the Nigerian LNG plant in Nigeria;
• Representation of the bank lending group financing the upstream project on a limited recourse basis of the Qatargas I LNG project in Qatar;
• Representation of the sponsors for project financing for the US$350 million the EBIC Ammonia plant in Egypt; 
• Representation of Lockheed Martin in the bid for the Skynet 5 PFI in the UK;
• Representation of the lenders in the Saudi Chevron project financing;
• Representing the lenders on the US$247 million financing of a methanol plant in Trinidad;
• Representation of ECGD as the UK export credit agency providing export credit financing for the Sual power project in the Philippines in which he advised.

Recent infrastructure project financings include:

• Cross Israel Highway Project. Representing the Cross Israel Highway Authority in connection with the structuring and award of a concession contract for the construction of the first 90km of a 300km toll road project in Israel;
• M5 Toll Road.  Representing the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the commercial lenders led by Commerzbank in connection with the US$350 million financing on a BOT basis of the M5 toll motorway project in Hungary;
• Tel Aviv Metro. Representing the Ministry of Finance and the Tel Aviv Municipality in connection with the construction and financing of the Tel Aviv Metro;
• D-5 Toll Road.  Representing the Czech Republic (The Ministry of Transportation of the Czech Republic) in connection with the proposed D-5 motorway from the German border to Plzen in the Czech Republic.  The Government eventually decided not to proceed with the project, due to various political and financial issues.  Nevertheless, in the course of this project, full review of all relevant legal issues involving project financing in the road sector was undertaken;
• Salalah Port.  Representing Société Générale as lead arranger and the lenders for a debt financing for the construction and equipping of the first and second phases of a container port facility at Salalah, Oman, for Salalah Port Services Company, a joint venture among various parties including the Government of Sultanate of Oman, Sea-Land and Maersk and in relation to the financing of an extension of the facility.  This involved detailed review of Concession Agreement and further Concession for Conventional Port;
• Jerusalem Light Rail Project.  Representing the Ministry of Finance in Israel in connection with the US$40 million light railway BOT project; and
• Cengkareng Airport.   Representing the Republic of Indonesia in connection with the financing of the Garuda Indonesia facilities at the Cengkareng Airport in Indonesia.

Bars and Courts
District of Columbia Bar, 1980
New York State Bar, 1981
Solicitor of England and Wales, 1993

Education
LLM, University of Virginia School of Law, 1978
LLB, Brunel University, with Honours, 1977

Publications
Project Financing in the Hydrocarbons Industry, Hydrocarbon Engineering, June 2002

Citizenship
British