Richard is a corporate/commercial solicitor with extensive experience in the energy, infrastructure and natural resources sector. He most recently worked as General Counsel to his client, Hummingbird Resources Plc, advising the UK AIM listed international gold mining company on a variety of corporate, commercial and project development-related matters. Richard is particularly well known for his leading experience in oil and gas projects, especially in Africa.
Richard has also led teams of lawyers and advised on major infrastructure projects in the UK and worldwide in the power, renewable, water, waste and transport sectors.
Richard has extensive international experience of transactions particularly in Africa, Canada and Central and Eastern Europe. He speaks fluent French and conversational Czech.
Expertise
- Energy and natural resources
- Infrastructure
- Project financing
- Acquisitions and joint ventures
- Commercial contracts
- PPP projects
Experience
Oil and Gas
- Advised Canadian Overseas Petroleum Limited on the negotiation of a new model production sharing contract with the Liberian Government and renegotiation of the acquisition of an 80% interest in Block LB-13 by ExxonMobil.
- Advised Heritage Oil Plc on its sale to Al Mirqab Capital for $1.6 billion including all the oil and gas licences and sale agreement.
- Advised on the acquisition by KazmunaiGas EP of a 35% interest in certain North Sea oil and gas fields from BG Group. This was KMG EP’s first investment in an oil and gas project outside Kazakhstan.
- Advised Heritage Oil Plc on its $850m acquisition of OML 30 in Nigeria from Shell and other oil majors.
- Advised the Government of Mauritania on the flagship Banda gas-to-power project including the development of pipeline facilities, gas processing plant and gas-to-power generation facilities to supply 300MW of power to Mauritania, Mali and Senegal.
- Advised Sunshine Oil Sands Ltd on a farm in and $250 million joint venture with Renergy Petroleum (Canada) Limited for the Muskwa and Godin oil sands leases in Alberta Canada.
- Advised on the $1.66 billion acquisition by KazmunaiGas EP of a stake in the oil and gas upstream company Mangistau Investments BV in Kazakhstan.
Mining
- Advised Hummingbird Resources Plc on the negotiation of a mineral development agreement and related matters for the project financing of a Liberian gold mine with the Government of Liberia.
- Advised Hummingbird Resources Plc on a variety of corporate, financial and construction-related matters on the building and commissioning of a gold mine in Mali including surface mining, fuel supply and engineering procurement construction management contracts.
- Advised a major European energy company on long-term mining concession and licence arrangements and related joint venture matters.
- Advised an African mining company on the acquisition of an interest in a gold mine in Guinea.
- Advised an international gold mining company on its bids for mining concessions in Africa.
Infrastructure
- Advised the winning bidder, Thames Water Plc, on the ground-breaking Project Aquatrine (Package B), a path-finding UK defence PFI natural resources concession project for the provision of water and wastewater services to 550 UK MOD sites.
- Advised the UK Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. This large and complicated deal led to the completion of a high-speed rail link between London and Paris. It is one of the largest and most high-profile PPP projects in the UK.
- Advised a major infrastructure company on the consortium arrangements for their successful bid as part of the CLM consortium to act as the delivery partner to the Olympic Delivery Authority for the London Olympic Games.
- Advised the World Bank on a contractual PPP “toolkit” for private sector participation in international water and sewerage projects, a manual on how to implement different methods of private sector participation including concession, BOT and operation and maintenance arrangements. It focuses on the pros and cons of different types of PPP arrangements and the PPP process, and also contains over 40 pages of questions on concession, operation and maintenance and BOT projects.
- Advised international infrastructure companies, pension funds and private equity houses on the regulatory and commercial aspects, including the setting up of joint venture consortiums on several bids for the acquisition of various water companies in the UK.
- Advised the Government of Oman on the restructuring and privatisation of the solid waste sector in Oman including the letting of a number of concession and operation infrastructure waste contracts to the private sector and drafting a new Oman waste law.
- Advised purchasers on secondary market acquisitions in the UK PFI sector.
Power and Renewables
- Advised a US waste energy company on its international joint venture arrangements in the waste-to-energy sector.
- Advised on equipment and technology supply arrangements in the waste-to-energy sector as well as advising on a range of commercial contracts for waste to energy clients.
- Advised a UK gas distribution company on a UK geo-pressure project.
- Advised the sponsors on the development of a solar project in Italy including the construction arrangements.
- Advised a major nuclear decommissioning company on its management and operation and parent body agreements with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
- Advised the UK Defence Evaluation and Research Agency on a PFI project for supply of electricity infrastructure to its largest UK military base.
- Advised a multinational bank and the IFC on the financing of the Gul Ahmed power generation project in Pakistan, including construction of the power generation plant and related facilities.
- Advised a UK based thermal energy developer on a deep heat array installation and roll out of energy as a service offering including the construction and operation arrangements to education establishments in the UK.
- Advised a project sponsor on the development through project finance of a waste to energy project using innovative technology in the UK.
- Advised the Government of Oman on the restructuring and privatisation of the solid waste sector in Oman including the letting of a number of concession and operation infrastructure waste contracts to the private sector and drafting a new Oman waste law.
- Advised a US hedge fund on emissions trading contracts.
- Advised the Government on Nepal on a framework power purchase agreement and related power projects.
- Advising the IFC on the proposed privatisation of the Faisalabad Area Electricity Board, as part of the energy sector reform carried out by the Privatisation Commission in Pakistan.
- Advised a UK utility on the acquisition of a power generation plant in India.
- Advised a major European energy company on long term nuclear fuel supply contracts and related joint venture arrangements.
Middle East
- Advised the Government of Oman on the restructuring and privatisation of the solid waste sector in Oman including the drafting of contracts and new legislation.
- Advised a Middle Eastern Government on new laws relating to the utilities sector.
- Advised a Middle East focused oil and gas UK listed company on its standard international oil and gas joint operating agreement.
Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.
Recognition
Recognised by The Legal 500 2022 for Oil & Gas
Recognised by The Legal 500 2022 for Power (including electricity, nuclear and renewables)
Recognised in Euromoney’s Legal Media Group Energy and Natural Resources Expert Guide 2020
Member of the Law Society of England and Wales
Member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators
Richard has been described in The Legal 500/Chambers as having a “stellar reputation in the sector”, “dynamic” and “highly effective” and ranked as a leader in his field particularly in the oil and gas sector.
Richard has been named as a leading legal expert in the energy and natural resources sector in The Legal 500, Chambers UK, London Super Lawyers, the Guide to the World’s Leading Energy Attorneys and Chambers Global.
Career
Richard qualified as a solicitor in 1989. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2018, he worked at the following firms:
- McCarthy Tetrault
- CMS Cameron McKenna
- Ashurst Morris Group
- Hogan Lovells