Oil & Gas

Decisions that hold up under time, pressure and scrutiny

Overview

Oil and gas projects are long-term bets. One development decision can lock in costs, risks or disputes for decades. When you are dealing with shifting regulation, capital-intensive infrastructure and counterparties who think in decades, you need clarity early and legal judgement that lasts.

We are a national, full-service oil and gas team with experience across upstream, midstream and downstream. Our partners have advised on high-stakes matters from first development and approvals through to M&A, operations, price reviews and decommissioning.

We were at the forefront of advising through the period when three of Australia’s LNG megaprojects were developed simultaneously, in a high pressure and high stakes environment and with tight timelines and commercial scrutiny from every direction. That experience continues to shape how we advise today.

Why clients trust us

We think in decades, not just deals

We show you how today’s approvals, deal structures and risk allocations play out over time. One workable consent is worth more than thirty piecemeal modifications.

We navigate tough regulatory and policy environments

We help clients respond to market interventions, shifting regulatory frameworks and political pressure, with strategies built to hold up when the goalposts move.

Negotiation strategies that reflect real leverage

We calibrate how hard to push and when to hold, protecting long-term relationships while still securing what matters most.

Market intelligence that saves time

We know where leverage actually exists and what counterparties will accept. That stops you spending resources on positions that will never land.

Execution that holds up under pressure

We identify issues early, produce clean documents and keep your credibility intact throughout negotiations and regulator engagement.

Integrated advice across the value chain

Upstream. Midstream. Downstream. Decommissioning. One team, one view, with insight into how each part of the operation affects the rest.

What you can count on

Regulatory strategy that scales over time

Approvals that work in practice, not just on paper, even as regulation changes.

Support through complex policy environments

Advice that anticipates shifts in gas codes, ESG expectations and regulatory oversight.

Contracts designed to last

Agreements built to handle pressure, complexity and decades of interaction.

Alignment from development to decommissioning

Legal advice that connects early decisions to long-term obligations and costs.

Sector fluency, not legal guesswork

We understand how oil and gas players think, operate and negotiate.

Judgement shaped by real exposure

Our partners have advised on Australia’s most complex and commercially significant oil and gas projects, and continue to do so today.

Recognition

Legal 500 Australia

Tier 1 Energy (Transactions & Regulatory)
Tier 1 Infrastructure Projects & Construction
Tier 1 Environment & Planning
Tier 1 Native Title
Tier 1 Real Estate

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Experience

We have acted on a wide array of significant transactions, including:

Arrow Energy: Project Counsel advising on the project development, approvals and transactions for their Surat and Bowen Basin projects.
Australia Pacific LNG Pty Ltd: Project Counsel on its A$24 billion CSG to LNG project, advising on a broad range of matters since its inception including project financing, project development, approvals, native title, gas marketing and approvals.
Port Kembla Energy Terminal: advising Australian Industrial Energy on the development of the Port Kembla Energy Terminal (PKET) in NSW, which will be Australia’s first liquid natural gas (LNG) import terminal and Australia's largest dual-fuel (gas and green hydrogen) power station
NT Gas Marketing Arrangements: advised the Northern Territory Government on the Territory's gas marketing arrangements securing future gas supply for the Territory, including the execution of recent gas deals with Tamboran, Empire and Central.
ConocoPhillips: advised on the sale of its interests in northern Australia for US$1.39 billion, together with a US$75 million contingent payment linked to FID on the Barossa Project.
Quadrant Energy: advised a consortium of sellers, including Macquarie, Brookfield, AMB and Wesfarmers, on the successful sale of West Australian-based Quadrant Energy for US$2.15 billion.
Beach Energy: advised on its sale of a 40% interest in its Victorian Otway Basin assets to O.G. Energy.
Gas Marketing: advising major gas producers, buyers and traders, including Origin Energy, APLNG, PetroChina and Senex on countless gas sale and purchase agreements.
Barossa LNG: advised the export credit agencies and commercial bank lenders on the proposed financing of SK E&S’s 37.5% share of the Barossa LNG gas field.
Energy World Corporation: advised on the successful sale of its 51% Participating Interest in SengKang PSC for A$35million to PT EMP Energi Jaya and related offtake rights.
Petrojarl FPSO: advising Amplus Energy on Australian aspects of their US$15 million sale of Petrojarl I floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel to Finder Energy, involving a purchase price of cash and shares in Finder Energy (ASXL FDR).
Eni: advised on its acquisition of a 42.71% interest in the Petrel fields and 100% in the Tern fields in the Bonaparte Basin offshore Northern Australia from Santos (ASX:STO).
Origin Energy: acted as one of the lead legal counsels for commodity, joint venture and M&A transactions, including the acquisition and development of various onshore and offshore petroleum assets in Queensland and Victoria.
Senex Energy: advised Senex on its high-profile A$1 billion Atlas gas project and Expression of Interest process to support the domestic market for the supply of gas from 2024 until 2039, which received offers oversubscribing the available supply by more than five times in the early years of supply.
Gas Price Review: acting for a major gas buyer on a gas price determination on two long-term gas sale agreements.