Oil + Gas

Gilbert + Tobin’s Oil + Gas team comprises some of the region’s leading industry specialists who have the experience, flexibility and insight to assist oil + gas clients navigate, confront and master changing environments with confidence. 

    Our Approach

    Gilbert + Tobin advises on all aspects of oil and gas projects, including finance, acquisitions and disposals, development, construction, regulation and operations. Our team’s mix of corporate, regulatory and project experience enables us to advise on a project’s entire lifecycle in all areas of this sector.

    Our team has worked throughout the world, including in Australia, Asia, Africa and the United States. All our energy specialists have advisory and in-house legal experience. Consequently, they have a deep understanding of, and experience in, the legal requirements for oil and gas companies in all aspects of their business.

    Our experience includes advising in relation to the development of greenfield projects, upstream asset sales and joint ventures, long term off-take agreements, equity and debt financing and commercial contracting.

    We advise on all aspects of conventional and unconventional oil and gas transactions, from initial corporate or asset acquisitions, to exploration and through to the production and sale of oil, gas or LNG. We are accustomed to working closely with commercial, engineering and technical teams and advisors in the oil and gas industry.

    Our services include:

    • All aspects of M&A involving energy and resource assets, including public company takeovers and schemes, private acquisitions and disposals, due diligence and regulatory approvals (including Foreign Investment Review Board).
    • Developing and negotiating energy legislation and regulation, liaising with government, regulators and other stakeholders and drafting agreements between project sponsors and government.
    • Land access, native title and Aboriginal heritage issues affecting resource projects and negotiating with native title parties and other stakeholders.
    • Developing and reviewing tenure solutions and approval programs for large and small-scale energy projects.
    • Disputes and occupational health and safety regulations.
    • Negotiation and documentation of farm-in agreements, joint operating agreements, sale and purchase agreements, option agreements, royalty agreements, production sharing agreements and compensation agreements.
    • All aspects of project development, including engineering, procurement and construction contracts and off-take contracts.
    • Infrastructure solutions for development projects including roads, airports, power, rail and port arrangements.
    • Financing and hedging facilities.

    Our experience includes advising:

    • Cooper Energy on its new $420 million syndicated senior secured debt facilities.
    • Castleton Commodities on its secured interest in the Northern Endeavour FPSO.
    • Jemena on the implementation of the Gas Market Reform Group’s capacity trading reform package across Jemena’s entire gas transportation contractual platform (involving approximately 70 Gas Transportation Agreements across Jemena’s five key gas pipeline facilities in Eastern Australia).
    • CNOOC NWS on its participation in the North West Shelf LNG project in Western Australia (Australia’s largest LNG project).
    • Harbour Energy on its $14.4 billion proposed acquisition of Santos Limited.
    • Beach Energy on its $1.585 billion acquisition of Lattice Energy, the conventional upstream oil and gas business, from Origin Energy, associated offtake agreements, and related equity capital raising and debt financing.
    • Scepter Partners on its $7.1 billion proposal to acquire Santos.
    • Neptune Energy Group on the Australian aspects of its US$3.9 billion acquisition of ENGIE E&P International S.A.
    • Jadestone Energy on its US$195 million acquisition of the Montara oil field from PTTEP, debt financing and related equity capital raising.
    • Cooper Energy on the project financing of the $355 million Sole Gas Project.
    • Aurora Oil & Gas on the $2.6 billion acquisition by Baytex Energy by scheme of arrangement.
    • Jadestone Energy and its acquisition of the Stag oil field from Santos and Quadrant Energy.
    • Vitol on its $2.9 billion acquisition of Shell’s Australian downstream assets, including the Geelong Refinery and 870 retail sites across Australia.
    • Wesfarmers on its US$100m acquisition of a 13.7% interest in Quadrant Energy Holdings.
    • AGL on the disposal of its interests in Elgas ($230 million) and Gas Valpo (US$90 million).
    • AGL / ALINTA on the acquisition of a 27.5% stake in Queensland Gas Company and entry into a 20-year gas supply agreement with QGC.
    • Bow Energy on its $1.2 billion acquisition by scheme of arrangement by Arrow Energy (jointly owned by Shell and PetroChina).
    • BP Australia on native title, Aboriginal heritage and land access issues associated with construction of an onshore LNG gas hub.
    • On the compliance of various oil refinery investment and rationalisation options for a major Australian oil refiner consistent with Australian competition practices.
    • Finder Exploration on its farm-out and joint operating agreement with Shell and Sasol

    Gilbert + Tobin Energy and Resources Group - Winners of the 2020 Beaton Client Choice Awards for the Best Provider to Mining, Oil and Gas.