(EnergyAsia, April 19 2011, Tuesday) — Law firm Herbert Smith said it advised China’s CNOOC Limited on its recent acquisitions of UK Tullow’s hydrocarbon acreage in Uganda for US$1.467 billion.
Herbert Smith said a joint energy team from its Hong Kong, London and Paris offices advised the Chinese firm on its all-cash purchase of Tullow’s one third interest in the African country’s exploration areas 1, 2 and 3A.
The deal’s closing, subject to approvals from the relevant authorities in Uganda and China, is likely to be the first half of 2011. France’s Total S.A. also purchased a third of Tullow’s stake, making the three companies equal partners in the exploration areas located in the Lake Albert Rift Basin.
According to Tullow, the area holds more than one billion barrels of P-50 recoverable of oil. The partners expect to eventually produce more than 200,000 b/d.
The Herbert Smith team advising CNOOC Ltd was led by its energy chief in Asia, Anna Howell, with partners David Clinch and Rebecca Major and senior associate Hilary Lau. Associates who took part in the transaction included Monica Sun, Phoebe Yuen,
Robin Carvell, Marly Ohlsson, Hao Su and Roman Zakrevsky. Jason Sung and SumWai Foong advised on corporate finance matters.
Ms Howell said:
“This world-class deal is a demonstration of our ability to advise on complex, cross border deals in multiple jurisdictions. It reinforces our status as the leading firm in the oil and gas sector and the tier one firm for Africa energy transactions.
“The timeline for completing the deal was particularly challenging. We coordinated teams in our Hong Kong, London and Paris offices who worked “around the clock” to ensure a successful close.”
Herbert Smith LLP is a leading international legal practice with over 1,400 lawyers, including over 250 partners, and a network of offices in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.