We offer a full range of services to the upstream, midstream and downstream industries. We frequently work with our clients offering strategic advice and commercial solutions in the following areas:

• Project structuring
• Acquisitions and divestments, including farmin, asset sale or share sale
• Indigenous heritage issues, environment, health and safety
• Marketing, sale and transportation of petroleum
• Licensing and production sharing contracts
• Joint operating and unitisation agreements
• Lifting and gas balancing arrangements
• Construction, commissioning and procurement
• Tie-in arrangements and access to infrastructure
• Petroleum resource rent tax
• Rig and service contacts

Our recent experience includes advising:

• AGL Energy on the acquisition of BHP Billiton's interest in the Moranbah Coal Seam Gas project.
• CalEnergy on the development and financing of the $1 billion Otway Gas project.
• Paladin Resources on the US$150 million acquisition of BHP Billiton’s unitised interest in the Laminaria Oilfield and subsequent transactions with Shell Development and Santos.
• Santos on behalf of the Barrow Island Joint Venture on infrastructure access arrangements with the Gorgon LNG venture, and on the sequestration of CO2 by the Gorgon LNG venture into depleted wells owned by the Barrow Island Joint Venture.
• a joint venture led by BG Group in relation to the ‘overlapping claims area’ disputed between Cambodia and Thailand, and the possible establishment of a joint development zone in the Gulf of Thailand.
• Tullow Oil plc on its $1.47 billion proposed acquisition of Hardman Resources Limited by way of scheme of arrangement.
• CBA and Westpac as financiers to AED Oil for the development of the Puffin Oil project.
• Santos on insurance and litigation issues arising from the uncontrolled mud flow from the non-operated Banjar-Panji-1 (BP-1) well in East Java, Indonesia. Vents in the vicinity of the BP-1 well (operated by a local Indonesian company) began flowing hot mud on 29 May 2006. The incident is ongoing, and involves aspects of Australian, Indonesian and other foreign law.
• Roc Oil on the development and project financing of the Cliff Head Oil Field.
• ConocoPhillips on its $8 billion Bayu-Undan project, including:
• all aspects of the development of Bayu-Undan gas recycle project and Darwin LNG project, including project structuring, construction, the feed gas and transportation arrangements
• the terms of the Timor Sea Treaty
• its defence of the underlying production sharing contracts in the Federal Court
• the acquisition of BHP’s and Kerr McGee’s upstream interests.
• Woodside Energy Limited, operator of the North West Shelf Venture, in relation to the acquisition by China National Offshore Oil Company of a 5.33% equity interest in the petroleum fields of the joint venture.
• Inpex on its $8 billion development of the Ichthys project in offshore Western Australia and the construction of an onshore LNG facility.
• Santos on its $2.61 billion sale of a 40% stake in Gladstone LNG to Petronas and in relation to the development of coal seam methane fields in Queensland, the sale of upstream assets  and all other aspects of the downstream project including construction and marketing.
• AGL Energy on its foundation gas transportation agreement to support the development of the QNS Pipeline Link by Epic Energy.
• AGL Energy and Arrow Energy NL on their acquisition of Enertrade’s merchant energy business
• North West Shelf in relation to a gas price arbitration.

Awards

• Energy and Resources Firm of the Year Award 2008 & 2006, Australian Law Awards
• Energy and Resources Deal of the Year 2008, ALB Awards: Babcock & Brown / Singapore Power acquisition of Alinta

Legal guides

• Tier 1 Ranking, Energy and Resources, Chambers Global Guide (2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005)
• Tier 1 Ranking, Energy and Resources, Asia Pacific Legal 500 (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005)
• Leading Firm, Energy, PLC Which Lawyer? (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004)

Testimonials

• The World's Leading Lawyers rates Freehills as the ‘premier energy and resources practice‘ in Australia.  
• Chambers Global Guide 2008 also attests to the quality and depth of the Freehills team, remarking that the firm has ‘a broad base of expertise combined with deep bench strength’. Clients report that ‘this high quality team provides inspired commercial advice’.