Current practice
Stuart is a senior member of the national Energy & Resources team and the Practice Leader of the Corporate group in Perth.
Since his admission in 1982, Stuart has practiced as a commercial lawyer. He was admitted to the partnership in 1988. He acts for most of the major oil & gas producers operating in Western Australia and for clients in the energy & resources and GHG industries. In addition, he continues to advise many of these clients on their activities outside Australia.
Experience
Stuart’s areas of expertise include major project acquisition and divestment, project structuring, development and financing (and particularly LNG project developments) and the negotiation of State Agreements, unitisation, gas sale and transportation, carbon storage, commodity purchase and sale contracts, and advice on the applicable legislative regimes (offshore petroleum, mineral legislation, PSCs and Timor Gap Zone of Co operation). He is familiar with international model form contracts. Stuart has been closely involved in advising on the transition of the treaty—now between Australia and Timor Leste—and associated legislation and arrangements, in relation to the joint development area known as the Timor Gap.
Major projects and clients
Stuart has advised manager/participants in the Ichthys LNG Project, the Bayu-Undan Project in the Timor Sea, Darwin LNG Project, Patricia Baleen (Bass Strait), Greater Sunrise, Central Desert Joint Venture, Harriet Gas Gathering Project and numerous other Carnarvon Basin ventures, Coal bed methane developments, the Kanowna Belle Gold Project, the Kutubu Oil Project, the Tiwest Mineral Sands & Co-generation Projects and the Tubridgi Gas Project.
He has advised on numerous acquisitions and disposals of resource and corporate assets in Australia, Papua New Guinea, South East Asia and elsewhere.
Professional background
Stuart is a Australian Mining and Petroleum Law Association member. He is also a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators and the Australian Petroleum Producers and Explorers Association. He was Co-Chair of the AIPN International Conference in Perth in 2006.
Stuart has an Honours degree from the University of Western Australia and a Masters degree from Cambridge University.
His published papers include papers: on Management of Resource Projects (1989); Interruption to Project Operations (1992); Native Title (1993); Risk Allocation in Joint Ventures (1994); Risk Allocation and Public Policy in Resource Projects (1996); Sale of Gas Transmission Pipelines (1998); Environmental Risks in Petroleum Operations and Selected Pipelines Issues (1999); Gas Gathering and Processing Projects in the 21st Century (2001); Evolution of the Timor Gap Treaty (2002) and Issues for Contractors under the Timor Sea Treaty (2003); Change of Operatorship (2005); the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act - Rewrite & Proposed Policy Changes (2006); Western Australia’s Gas Reservation Policy (2007); Carbon Capture & Storage (2009).
He is regularly selected as a leading practitioner in independent industry and professional guides and is listed in Chambers Global Guides to the World’s Leading Lawyers 2000–2010 (Band 1), as a leading individual in PLC Which Lawyer? under Energy & Natural Resources 2009 and Asia-Pacific Legal 500 Guide 2004-08 under Energy & Project Finance, Best Lawyers International 2009–2010, as one of the 25 leading energy and natural resources practitioners in the World – Legal Media Group – Euromoney (2010) and The International Who's Who of Oil & Gas Lawyers 2009.
During 2011, Stuart took an extended sabbatical from Freehills to research and write a text titled ‘Petroleum Laws of Australia’. He was based at the Universities of Aberdeen and Western Australia and, subject to the finalisation of material amendments to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act, Cth, the book is expected to be published in 2012.
