Current practice

Rob is a partner in Freehills' Corporate group. He specialises in energy & resources law.

Industry experience

Rob advises on project development and financing, commodity sales and transportation, mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures. Recent experience includes acting for:

Power, Oil & Gas, LNG

• AGL Energy on the acquisition of Enertrade’s merchant energy business from the state of Queensland
• CalEnergy on the development, project financing and subsequent partial divestment of its interests in the Yolla Gas Project and the Otway Gas Project
• Roc Oil on the development and financing of the Cliff Head Oil Project (offshore Western Australia) and the Chinguetti Oil Project (offshore Mauritania)
• AGL Energy on the acquisition of the Moranbah Coal Seam Gas Project
• Australian Pipeline Trust on the acquisition of CMS Energy’s interests in the Goldfields Gas Pipeline, Parmelia Gas Pipeline, Mondarra Gas Storage Facility and Dongarra Gas Processing Facility
• The Australian Gas Light Company on the sales of its Western Australian retail gas business to Western Power and power stations to TransAlta 
• Southern Cross Pipelines on the acquisition of the Goldfields Gas Pipeline and Southern Cross Energy on the acquisition of WMC’s power stations
• Epic Energy on the privatisation of the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline in 1998 and Australian Pipeline Trust / Enbridge Inc on their consortium bid for the DBNGP in 2004
• Horizon Power on its Pilbara power projects
• ConocoPhillips on the development of the Bayu-Undan Gas Recycle and Darwin LNG Project
• Chevron in relation to the Gorgon Gas Project, and
• MEO Australia on its proposed Tassie Shoal LNG and Methanol Project.

Mining and metals

• Murchison Metals on the sale of an interest in the Jack Hills iron ore  mine to Mitsubishi, and the creation of joint ventures for the development of rail and port infrastructure
• JFE Steel on the Western 4 Iron Ore joint venture with BHP Billiton, Mitsui and Itochu, including associated iron ore offtake contracts
• Mt Gibson Mining on the sale of its magnetite project to Sinom and the development of its Koolan Island and Extension Hill haematite projects
• Murchison Metals on the acquisition of the Rocklea iron ore tenements
• Windimurra Vanadium on the redevelopment of the Windimurra Vanadium Mine and Noble Group’s investment in the project
• BHP Billiton on the marketing of Olympic Dam uranium
• Avoca Resources on the development of the Higginsville Gold Project.
• LinQ Resources Fund on mezzanine financing arrangements for CopperCo Limited
• Moly Mines on the development of the Spinifex Ridge molybdenum project, and
• Citic Pacific on the development of its Sino Iron project in the Pilbara.

Professional background

Rob holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Murdoch University.

He has lectured in oil & gas law at Murdoch University and in corporations law to the Chartered Institute of Company Secretaries. 

He is a director of AMPLA (The Resources & Energy Law Association), a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators and a member of the Energy & Resources Committee of the Chamber of Commerce & Industry (WA).

He has been named in Chambers Global and The Best Lawyers in Australia as a leading Australian energy & resources lawyer.