Project Development and Finance overview

With more than 300 lawyers worldwide providing advice on New York, English, Islamic and various local laws, our Project Development and Finance Practice has the foresight, flexibility and experience to deliver results under the most challenging conditions.

That's why our clients turn to us to help them achieve their most ambitious, large-scale project goals. Large-scale projects experience a variety of challenges relating to structuring and financing, government regulations, construction, feedstock, offtake and other contracts, local law coordination, and other issues that cross national and international boundaries, including political risk.

Our clients receive more than just international and, in many cases, local legal advice. We provide business, strategic and cultural advice. We assist our clients in structuring, negotiating and documenting the full array of project and financing agreements, tailoring each agreement to their needs and the customs of the local jurisdictions. In addition, we provide risk management advice to assist our clients with their business strategies.

We've successfully advised sponsors and developers on matters that span the full life cycle of projects, ranging from acquisition to development, financing, hedging, construction, completion and operation. Additionally, we have been at the forefront of all aspects of project financings, including commercial bank loans, export credit agencies and other bilateral/multilateral facilities, term loan B financings, mezzanine and holdco financings, project bonds and Islamic financings.

We have significant experience in the major sectors, including power generation and transmission (thermal power, nuclear energy and all forms of renewable energy); oil & gas (liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petrochemicals); infrastructure (roads, airports, bridges, railways, ports and social infrastructure); mining & metals; water and wastewater treatment; and telecommunications and digital infrastructure (towers, broadband, fiber-optics and satellites).

Experience

NEOM Green Hydrogen Project, the world's largest green hydrogen facility

We represented NEOM Green Hydrogen Company in the landmark US$8.4 billion NEOM Green Hydrogen Project. It is the world's first utility-scale green hydrogen facility and the largest greenfield renewables project in history. The project, which will be powered by 4 GWs of solar and wind energy, is expected to produce up to 600 tonnes per day of carbon-free hydrogen. The financing involved a syndicate of 21 commercial banks, export credit agencies and development finance institutions.

West Burton B refinancing

We represented West Burton Energy and its wholly owned subsidiary West Burton B Limited (collectively, WBE) in the £350 million refinancing of the 1,332 MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) and 49 MW battery energy storage system plant located in Nottinghamshire, UK. We also advised WBE on negotiating new trading arrangements with EDF Energy and a tolling arrangement with Shell Energy Europe for a portion of CCGT's generating capacity.

Ventient Energy refinancing

We represented the lenders to Ventient Energy, Europe's largest operator of onshore wind farms, in the €2.6 billion refinancing of existing debt financings and the creation of a new investment platform designed to expand Ventient's renewable energy business and projects across Europe.

Project East2West

We represented Africa50, an infrastructure investment platform, in a partnership with digital connectivity company Bayobab to develop Project East2West, a terrestrial fiber- optic cable network connecting the eastern shores of Africa to those on the west. The partnership will invest up to US$320 million, connecting ten African countries from 2023 to 2025. The network will offer substantial improvements in data traffic for internet service providers, mobile network operators and hyperscalers operating in these countries.

AUD$4.6 billion Queensland Train Manufacturing Program

We represented Downer EDI Rail in its AUD$4.6 billion contract to design, build and maintain the Queensland Train Manufacturing Program. The program involves the design, manufacture and commissioning of 65 new six-car passenger trains at a purpose-built manufacturing facility in Torbanlea, Queensland, Australia. The program includes (i) building a new train maintenance and stabling facility in Ormeau, Queensland, Australia; and (ii) the maintenance of the rollingstock, simulators and Ormeau rail facility for 15 years initially, with the ability to extend for up to 35 years.

US$4.2 billion Greenfield Karratha Urea Project

We represented Perdaman Chemicals and Fertilisers Pty Ltd (Perdaman) in the development and financing of the US$4.2 billion greenfield Karratha Urea Project in Western Australia. Development began in 2023. Once operational, the plant, with a capacity in excess of two million tons per annum, will transform natural gas into urea, a widely used fertilizer. The plant is being constructed by Saipem and Clough (a Webuild subsidiary) with the natural gas for operations supplied by Woodside under a 20-year gas supply agreement, and 100 percent of the urea supplied by Incitec Pivot under a long-term offtake agreement.

Balikpapan Refinery Development Master Plan, one of Indonesia's largest project financings

We represented PT Kilang Pertamina Balikpapan, a subsidiary of Indonesian state-owned oil & gas company PT Pertamina (Persero), in the US$3.1 billion financing for the Balikpapan Refinery Development Master Plan project to upgrade the capacity and capabilities of its Balikpapan refinery in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The lenders include export credit agencies KEXIM, K-SURE, SACE and US EXIM, and 22 local and international commercial banks. The transaction is one of the largest project financings in Indonesia in the past decade.

Jeonnam 1 offshore wind project, first South Korean non-recourse project-financed offshore wind farm

We represented Jeonnam Offshore Wind Power Co. Ltd., a joint venture between South Korea's SK E&S Co., Ltd. and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), in the development and project financing of the 99 MW Jeonnam 1 offshore wind project located in Jeonnam Province, South Korea. This is the first non-recourse project- financed offshore wind farm in South Korea.

The financing is supported by international and domestic financial institutions, including Korea Development Bank, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (Crédit Agricole CIB), Bank of America, Mizuho Bank, MUFG Bank, Société Générale, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Standard Chartered Bank and NH-Amundi Green New Deal Infrastructure ESG Fund. Korea Development Bank and Crédit Agricole CIB acted as financial advisers.

Rio Grande LNG, largest greenfield energy project financing in the US

We represented Mubadala Investment Company in its participation in a joint venture with NextDecade Corporation, Global Infrastructure Partners, GIC and TotalEnergies in the financing of the construction of the first three liquefaction trains at ND's 27 million tons- per-annum Rio Grande LNG export facility in Brownsville, Texas. The US$18.4 billion project financing for RGLNG Phase 1 is the largest greenfield energy project financing in US history.

Prospect Lake Clean Water Center, novel public-private partnership in the US water sector

We represented Ridgewood Infrastructure in its unsolicited proposal to the City of Fort Lauderdale for the development of the Prospect Lake Clean Water Center. The project will use nanofiltration and ion-exchange technology to treat the water, and includes a first-of-its-kind approach to financing US public-private partnerships; the equity investors will fund 25 percent of the project costs while the city of Fort Lauderdale will combine the risk transfer to their private partners for delivery and long-term maintenance of the project, with low-cost financing raised separately by the city to fund 75 percent of the project costs.

Mendubim Solar financing

We represented IDB Invest in its limited recourse project financing for the Mendubim 531 MWp portfolio of solar photovoltaic power plants, transmission line and associated interconnection facilities located in the municipality of Assú, Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil.

São Paulo Metro Line 6, the largest PPP project under construction in Latin America

We represented the senior lenders, including multilateral lenders, development ﬁnance institutions, a syndicate of commercial banks and BNDES (Brazil's national development bank) in the project ﬁnancing of the approximately US$3 billion São Paulo Metro Line 6 in Brazil. This is the ﬁrst-ever limited recourse ﬁnancing of an infrastructure PPP project in Brazil by BNDES and is currently the largest PPP project under construction in Latin America.

Solek PMGD portfolio

We represented solar power developer Solek Holding and certain of its subsidiaries in a senior secured credit facility whose proceeds will be used to develop a portfolio of photovoltaic plants in Chile. The development falls under the country's "PMGD" regime, whose aim is to incentivize distributed electricity generation in Chile and to meet the country's goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. The portfolio will initially include four PMGD projects, and the financing structure provides the flexibility to add additional projects over time.