For almost three decades, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher has maintained a leading worldwide Energy and Infrastructure practice. Including more than 40 attorneys across the firm, our energy and project finance lawyers have extensive and varied experience in the industrial, commercial, financial and political issues that are inherent in the development, financing, construction and operation of major energy and infrastructure facilities around the world.
In the energy arena our experience spans from traditional oil and gas production, refining, transmission and financing to siting, permitting, construction, operation, divestiture and acquisition of renewable projects such as wind power, biomass and bio-diesel, hydro, geo-thermal and solar power generation installations, technologies and facilities.
Our infrastructure experience extends to a range of projects including:
- Power Projects: Gibson Dunn lawyers have advised clients in connection with the power generation projects located in the European Union, the United States and emerging markets around the world, involving coal, gas and oil-fired generation, as well as geothermal, hydroelectric, biomass and other renewable-resource technologies. Our power experience includes stand-alone power generation projects as well as integrated facilities with secondary applications (including co-generation). Our lawyers have acted as lead counsel on more than 120 power generation transactions, involving capital of more than $40 billion, including greenfield development and financing, privatization, disaggregation, acquisition and restructuring transactions. We also have experience in the privatization, acquisition and development of associated transmission facilities.
- Telecommunications, Media and Data: Complementing the Firm's Emerging Technologies Practice Group, the Energy and Infrastructure Group maintains an active role in projects involving all manner of telecommunications, media and data. Relevant experience includes the acquisition, development. privatization and financing of new and existing telecommunications networks (including all manner of wireless technology) as well as the acquisition, development and financing of media, ISP and related data services companies.
- Industrial Applications: The project finance model has been successfully applied by our lawyers to the development and financing of a wide array of industrial applications, including food processing companies, pharmaceuticals, nuclear fuel plant simulators and chemical plants, among others.
- Energy/Natural Resources: Our lawyers advise our clients in transactions relating to natural resource extraction (including natural gas, oil, coal, timber, alumina and precious metals), pipelines, and secondary processing (including paper-processing and petrochemical manufacturing plants).
- Other Infrastructure: We have experience with a full spectrum of other infrastructure applications of the project finance/privatization model, including ports, water and waste-water projects, toll roads, airports, stadiums, tourism and other public use facilities.
Many of our transactions involve the investment of long-term capital across borders, and in emerging economies. Such investments, whether in the form of debt or equity, call upon our experience in multiple jurisdictions and our skills in the tools and techniques of securing financing across borders and mitigating financial and political risks. We have extensive experience with the various public and private sources of political risk mitigation products, including experience with (and in some cases on behalf of) such institutions as:
- Multilateral Agencies, such as the European Investment Bank, the World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Inter-American Development Bank, Andean Development Corporation (CAF), Commonwealth Development Corporation and Asian Development Bank.
- National Development And Export Credit Entities, such as the U.S. Export-Import Bank, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (formerly JExim), the Ministry of International Trade & Industry (MITI) - Japan, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Export Development Corporation of Canada, Deutsche Entwicklungs Gesellschaft, KfW, COFACE, and CESDE and FOCOEX of Spain.
Finally, the Energy and Infrastructure Practice is an integrated part of the Firm's Global Finance Practice Group, representing leading domestic and foreign financial institutions and issuers in domestic and cross-border lending transactions, securitizations, commercial paper and capital markets placements, taxable and tax-exempt debt issuances and equity and debt offerings. In addition, the following practice groups are heavily represented in our Energy and Infrastructure practice:
Business Restructuring
Capital Markets
Environmental Compliance and Counseling
Global Finance
Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Mergers & Acquisitions
Private Equity
Real Estate
Tax