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Clayton Utz leads China's LNG buy up
Clayton Utz has advised Australia Pacific LNG Pty Ltd on a deal that sees China Petrochemical Corp increase its holding in the company an additional 10 per cent.
The New Lawyer
CLAYTON Utz has advised Australia Pacific LNG Pty Ltd on a deal that sees China Petrochemical Corp, or Sinopec Group, increase its holding in the company from 15 per cent to 25 per cent.
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The client has entered into agreements with Sinopec that will see it supply a further 3.3 million tonnes of LNG per year to 2035.
A Clayton Utz team led by corporate national practice head and Energy and Resources partner Graham Taylor, and including energy and resources senior associate Samy Mansour, advised APLNG on the issue of further equity to Sinopec.
Lead Clayton Utz partner Graham Taylor said the APLNG project continues to go from strength to strength, "and will deliver significant economic benefits to the state of Queensland. We're proud to be associated with the project".
In April 2011, Taylor led a Clayton Utz team including energy and resources partner Andrew Smith as well as Samy Mansour, in advising APLNG on the issue of a 15 per cent equity interest to Sinopec in the APLNG joint venture for a net consideration of US$1.5 billion, and an agreement for the supply of up to 4.3 million tonnes each year of LNG to Sinopec, for 20 years.
APLNG began as a joint venture between leading Australasian integrated energy company Origin Energy, and major global energy provider ConocoPhillips, to deliver coal seam gas to an LNG plant at Laird Point on Curtis Island near Gladstone, Queensland. LNG exports from the APLNG project are expected to commence in 2015.
Clayton Utz was appointed project counsel to the APLNG project in 2008, with Taylor and Smith the firm's key partners.
Bloomberg news reports that China, the world's largest energy consumer, plans to more than double natural gas consumption to cut its reliance on coal and oil. China will become Asia's second largest LNG imported by 2020 as its annual purchase of the fuel is likely to rise about 44 million tons.
