Abeledo Gottheil assists local and foreign companies of the oil and gas sector in their specific needs, which include the following tasks: advice in bids for the exploration and exploitation concession of hydrocarbon areas; regulatory aspects; related contracts (joint exploitation or association agreements for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons, transportation, distribution, supply, services contracts, etc.); due diligence processes; assistance and representation in international arbitrations and national litigations both, between private parties and the National or Provincial Government.
The Firm offers assistance to its clients in legal matters derive from the exploration, drilling, production, refining and distribution activities, including several acquisitions and negotiations referred to joint operating agreements, drafting of contracts, such as oil service agreements, HSE consultancy service, subcontracts, “workover” operations, fixed-term charter agreements in vessels, geophysical services, aircraft services, air support of land seismic operations and drilling contracts; acquisition of exploration, exploitation and/or oil services companies, among others.
Likewise, the professionals of the Firm give advice on regulatory matters and compliance thereof.
The members of our team have taken specialization courses on the issue and LLM both, in Argentina and abroad, and in addition they are recognized as experts by the international publications Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500 Best Lawyers and Latin Lawyer, among others. Our counsel Luis Alberto Erize makes-up the panel of experts of the “Section on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law” (SEERIL), of the International Bar Association.
Relevant experience
- Legal advice to Fluor Daniel on enhancement of the facilities of an important Argentine refinery.
- Legal advice and assistance to Fluor Daniel in the negotiation of a FEED (Front Ending Engineering and Design / Prefeasibility and Basic Engineering) Agreement and its consequent EPC with YPF for important works, to be carried out in the most important refineries of the company in Argentina.
- Legal advice to a renowned multinational company for the participation in the bid for tenders in offshore areas of Mar Argentino (International Public Offshore Bid N°1 for award in the national offshore areas): analysis of the legal and institutional structure of the Argentine Republic, the Argentine judicial system and the judicial control regime on the performance of officers, the legal regime of upstream, midstream and downstream of hydrocarbons, granting of exploration permits and exploitation concessions in different sectors, history of contracts, conversion thereof and award of areas, the privatization the state-owned company’s assets and the regulatory frameworks of oil and gas and gas transportation and distribution, stability of said regimes, regulatory evolution thereof, liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons market, arbitration clauses and protection of investments under International Treaties, and application thereof, including aspects on immunity of jurisdiction and enforcement, its comparison with arbitration clauses set forth by the Government in other areas, the terms of the international bid for offshore areas, evolution of the regulated markets applicable to liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons at the local level and its international trade, prices and rates, special labor regime for the sector, Buy” National” regime, definition of risks and contingencies, applicable tax regime, evaluation of information and consultations under the regime of successive rounds set forth by the enforcement authority, modifications to proposals for the drafting of arbitration clauses, etc.
- Legal advice and due diligence for the successful acquisition of an important local oil & gas corporation, with special reference to the Joint Operating agreements and oil & gas exploitation concessions in Argentina and other countries, shareholders agreements related to license holding companies, etc., percentage interest in national and international natural gas transmission licenses and related oil and gas pipelines issues.
- Legal advice and Due diligence of a local oil & gas corporation together with its percentage interest in oil & gas operations in Argentina, including oil & gas exploitation concessions, merger of companies, review of Joint Operating Agreements, title on exploitation concessions, transport agreements, lifting procedures and agreements, environmental matters and licensing, tax, labor and corporate related issues, etc. ; oil & gas company acquisition., procedures for the gas supply nomination and re-nomination, environmental issues and granting of licenses or concessions, etc.
- Continuing legal assistance to oil services companies in oil services agreements, joint ventures, pulling services, production of trepans, geophysical services, evaluation of formation logging, drilling, etc. Advice on pooling and unitization. Legal advice to national oil company for the negotiation of oil service contracts, their renegotiation several times, including litigations against the Public Sector with respect to take or pay clauses, renegotiation and reconversion of said contracts, joint operating agreements, gas supply agreements and related industrial projects.
- Legal assistance for the due diligence of the acquisition of a concession for the exploitation of oil of an important Argentine producer of oil and gas.
- Legal assistance on the past and present of exploration, upstream in Argentina, deregulation of refining, downstream, the process for the award to the private sector of separate commercial units, exploration permits and concessions for the exploration through the reconversion of services contracts for preexisting risks, public bids of exploration permits and exploitation concessions, transportation of natural gas and distribution licenses, and the recombination of key parts of the natural gas system. Publications describing regulations for rating, supply security and open access regulations and the nature of gas supply and transportation contracts.
- Counsel to Shell Oil and Shell C.A.P.S.A. (1997 up to date) with continuing assistance in both upstream and downstream, including several acquisitions and negotiations regarding joint operating agreements, drafting of contracts, such as oil services agreements including HSE consultancy service, subcontracts, workover operations, vessel time charter party agreements, geophysical consultancy services, aircraft services, air support of land seismic operations and drilling contracts for a major oil multinational company acquisition project, including gas transmissions licensees, etc., and due diligences for the acquisition of an interest percentage in a Bolivian oil corporation for Shell.
- Legal assistance for the drafting of a put and call agreement related to an international gas pipeline project and a gas supply agreement and an international gas supply agreement for a transportation capacity of 8.5 MMCM/day of natural gas.
- Legal assistance to, and representation of, Total regarding the arbitration filed before the ICSID under a Bilateral Investment Protection Treaty, reviewing all substantive and procedural issues, the factual background and the impact of governmental measures. The claim involves natural gas (exploration permits and exploitation concessions, national gas sales agreements, the regulatory interference with the same) upstream and mid-stream (participating interests on both international and local natural gas pipelines) interests, and thermal power and hydro-power generation. (See international arbitrations).
- Legal assistance and advice in international arbitration and local litigation including arbitration under the rules of the American Arbitration Association, regarding a 200U$S M claim confronting Reef International Inc. and Pet-Ja S.A. against Compañía General de Combustibles S.A., Sociedad Comercial del Plata S.A., Shell Compañía Argentina de Petróleo S.A. and Shell Oil Company.
- Legal advice regarding the consequences of the arbitration award rendered against Compañía General de Combustibles S.A., under the American Arbitration Association rules, within the receivership proceedings of both Compañía General de Combustibles S.A. and Sociedad Comercial del Plata S.A.
- Legal advice to Tecpetrol and Compañía General de Combustibles S.A. to enforce at Courts, a favorable award, with respect to the proper exercise of the preemptive right on shares corresponding to the controlling company of a gas transportation licensee, which original holder transmitted to a third party without observing such preemptive right.
- Legal assistance to Baker Hughes Inc. and related companies on oil services agreements, joint ventures, pulling services, rockbits’ production, geophysical services, formation logging, drilling, etc.
- Legal advice to Pluspetrol S.A. for the negotiation of oil services contracts, their renegotiation, including litigation against the Public Sector with respect to take or pay clauses and other issues, leading into a reconversion of such agreements, joint operating agreements, gas supply contracts and related industrial projects.
- Legal assistance in litigation regarding environmental matters (acquifer pollution) with respect to an oil exploitation concession.
- Legal assistance for Fluor Daniel for the building of a gas pipeline to Chile on the Northwest Basin, with the review of several contracts and related aspects.
- Legal assistance to Global Marine with respect to several oil services and transportation agreements with Total Austral for offshore exploration of hydrocarbons.
- Legal assistance for the conversion of an oil production sharing agreement (Houston Contract) into an exploration permit and further farm-out of a percentage interest of the same, and legal assistance on every aspect related with such offshore, oil exploration permit and its performance (regulatory issues, negotiation with the Governmental authorities related with the work commitments, insurance, contingency plans, environmental aspects, relinquishment of areas, etc.)
- Counsel to Union Texas (Argentina) Ltd. for the reconversion of the Colorado Marina I Area Exploration Permit, of the contract awarded by international bidding in accordance with the “Houston Plan”.
- Counsel to the consortium composed by the NMB Postbank Groep N.V. -Thyssen-Clarkson in the Bid Nr. 14-19116-91, for the selection of the financial advisor to assist Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales S.A. (YPF) in the organization and development of a process of Public Bid for the sale of YPF’s fleet.
- Counsel to Williams Brothers Engineering Co. in the bid for Consultancy and Technical Assistance Services for Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales S.A. on the association by it with oil companies (Competitive Bidding 14-9092), within areas of Yacimiento del Norte. Our Law Firm participated in the coordination of the preparation of the offer, its submission and in the follow-up of the subsequent processes with respect to YPF.
- Legal assistance to a well known oil producer in disputes filed in connection with the acquisition of the participating interest in an exploration permit and exploitation concession.
- Legal advice to an important oil producer in the review of the legal aspects related to the eventual acquisition of a controlling interest in a foreign oil producer within the region.
- Advice to a major investor in regional gas distribution, regarding regulatory aspects related to the natural gas distribution license.
- Advice on corporate disputes in an investment company, holder of control shares of a natural gas distribution utility, and in the subsidiary.
- Legal assistance to Total Gas, an important company in the market of undiluted propane butane gas, regarding conflicts generated with other players of the industry in the gas cylinders market and other infrastructure and logistics issues inherent to its line of business.
