David Strickland
Biography
Overview
David is a core member of the Firm's Global Construction Industry Group, where he leads the Firm's construction initiatives focused on the United States and Canada.
Trained as a civil engineer, David leverages his deep understanding of the construction industry to help clients from the conceptual drawing board through the punch list and beyond on their mega-capital ($1B+) projects. He leads a team of construction-specialists, who are well-versed on all aspects of the delivery of construction projects, from procurement and the drafting and negotiation of contracts, to contract administration and the avoidance and resolution of disputes. The team has successfully completed over $200B in projects throughout the United States and Canada.
David has extensive experience across the table from virtually every major contractor in the United States and Canada, and is able to leverage his market knowledge to provide quick resolution to even the toughest issues. He has been involved in many of the largest, non-recourse project financings in the United States, and regularly advises both sponsors and lenders on bankability issues for construction projects for LNG, power and other asset classes.
While most of his clients are focused on large, "bet the company" projects, David has recently leveraged his projects experience to assist start-up companies looking to deploy new technologies in oil & gas, power and other traditional and emerging infrastructure sectors. He assists these clients in determining the best project delivery systems through a deep evaluation of the commercial, technical and legal constraints for each client, including their underlying technologies and their geographic focus. He then works closely with such clients to develop start-up and steady state project delivery systems tailored for each client’s funding sources and project pipelines.
Experience
Representation of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: OXY) on the development of STRATOS, the world's largest Direct Air Capture (DAC) facility. Occidental has formed a joint venture with BlackRock Inc., the world's largest asset manager, in connection with the STRATOS project with BlackRock investing US$550 million into the joint venture.
Representation of GreenStruxure, a joint venture of Schneider Electric and Huck Capital, on developing a strategic partnership with ClearGen, a Blackstone portfolio company, whereby ClearGen will provide US$500 million in long-term capital to to GreenStruxture to develop, operate, and maintain on-site renewable energy microgrid systems. Customers of these microgrids will benefit from "energy as a service" solution that provides energy and sustainability solutions with no upfront capital contribution and no operational risks.
Representation of Tellurian Inc. in the development and financing of the Driftwood LNG project, which will include up to five LNG plant facilities to liquefy natural gas, three LNG storage tanks, a marine facility, and other appurtenant facilities at a site near Carlyss, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, and approximately 96 miles of pipeline and which will produce up to 27.6 million tons per annum of LNG for export.
Representation of the lead arrangers on the project financing of Gulf Coast Ammonia, a world-scale hydrogen and nitrogen based ammonia plant in Texas City, Texas, with capital costs in excess of US$800 million. The project was developed by Macquarie Capital, who sold their interest to Starwood Energy & Infrastructure Fund III at closing. Following closing, the 3,600 metric tons per day project is owned by Starwood Energy & Infrastructure Fund III and Mabanaft.
Representation of Energy Vault, a gravity and kinetic energy based, long-duration energy storage company, in the commercialization of their product offerings. As these projects are being developed around the world, including in Switzerland and elsewhere, Energy Vault's offering could revolutionize energy storage, as it provides an economical alternative to lithium ion batteries and is not restricted to certain topographies or specific geology formations.
Representation of a client in connection with the decommissioning and redevelopment of a wind farm in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. The representation included preparing and negotiating the engineering, procurement, and construction agreements, including the overall coordination and development of the technical aspects of the project.
Representation of The Bank of Nova Scotia, National Bank Financial Markets, Royal Bank of Canada, National Bank of Kuwait S.A.K.P. and Export Development Canada as mandated lead arrangers in a US$1.7 billion amortizing senior secured term facility and a US$150 million senior secured revolving facility to finance the development and construction by Canada Kuwait Petrochemical Ltd. Partnership of a new integrated petrochemicals facility and associated infrastructure and utilities to be located in Sturgeon County in the Province of Alberta, Canada.
Representation of an international company in the drafting and negotiation of an EPC agreement to develop a specialty chemicals facility in Texas. The project is valued at nearly US$1 billion. David's involvement included the re-vamping of a failed procurement strategy upon appointment to the matter, plus the subsequent execution of such new procurement strategy, yielding the desired commercial goals of the client.
Representation of a LNG company in the drafting and negotiation of an EPC agreement to develop its LNG export facility near Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada. The project is valued in excess of US$10 billion. David's involvement included the development of a procurement strategy and the subsequent execution of such procurement strategy, which resulted in the execution of the EPC agreement within the allotted procurement timeframe. The representation includes the ongoing representation of the company during execution of the project.
Representation of a major international chemical company in connection with an EPC agreement for the construction of a methanol facility in Louisiana. The project is valued in excess of US$1.5 billion.
Representation of an international company in the drafting and negotiation of an EPC agreement for a brownfield expansion, where the expansion activities must contemplate ongoing operation activities and an expansion plot plan that is completely intertwined with the existing facility. Upon completion, the facility's production will almost double.
Representation of an energy company in the drafting and negotiation of engineering, procurement and construction agreements for the construction of a crude oil pipeline of approximately 692 miles, which involves the conversion of approximately 432 miles of gas pipelines to crude service and building approximately 260 miles of new pipeline. As the project was implemented through a multi-prime strategy, David assisted the client with all forms of project documents, including engineering, supply, EPC and construction agreements. The project was the single largest capital investment in the company's history, and created a cornerstone asset for the company's future success.*
Representation of a US energy company in connection with its major offshore construction project, including agreements for engineering, supply, modular construction and offshore installation. The representation included an in-depth analysis of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and how the US statute impacts contractual rights and obligations on indemnity provisions, limitations of liability, choice of law provisions, forum selection clauses, and dispute resolution preferences, among others.*
Representation of a developer in connection with the drafting and negotiation of the EPC for a greenfield, CCGT power facility, which included an initial, competitive RFP for supply of long-lead equipment. The equipment bidders were GE, Mitsubishi and Siemens. As part of the RFP process, David drafted and negotiated a term sheet for the supply of the equipment and the definitive agreement for the associated LTSA.*
Representing a major refinery in connection with the development, drafting and negotiation of the EP, EPCM, EPC and construction contracts for expansion of its refinery facilities in Texas and Louisiana.*
*Matters prior to joining White & Case
