Hamish McArdle

Hamish McArdle has wide ranging experience in the UK and international energy sector where he advises clients on all aspects of the energy value chain including large-scale projects and corporate and commercial matters, with a particular focus on those associated with the upstream and midstream oil and gas sectors and LNG.

Mr. McArdle advises leading energy companies in the structuring and negotiation of oil and gas development projects and transactions, and he acts for sellers, purchasers and joint venture project companies, with particular recent experience in Africa and the Middle East.

Mr. McArdle has spent time seconded to ARCO British Limited and BP. Hamish is listed in Chambers UK 2015-2019 for Energy & Natural Resources: Oil & Gas Projects and The Legal 500 UK 2015-2019 for Projects & Energy: Oil & Gas.

Project Development, Oil & Gas, LNG and Pipelines

• Cobalt - advising on the exploration and development of three deepwater operated blocks, Angola and on assets in Gabon
• Uganda National Oil Company - on its participation in the Uganda – Tanzania 1,400km ($3.5 billion) East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline
• Halliburton - on a proposed oilfield services / operator services contract, Nigeria
• Brass LNG - advising on gas supply and sales to the proposed Brass LNG plant, Nigeria
• Azerbaijan Gas Supply Company (AGSC) - advising on gas sales agreements and operational agreements with Turkish, Georgian and Azerbaijani State gas companies; advising on the gas sales agreement with BTC oil pipeline company; advising on transportation agreements between AGSC and South Caucasus Pipeline Company (including gas transportation); advising on contract disputes and price negotiations with BOTAS
• Major energy company - advising on joint venture arrangements for the development of a floating liquefaction project, and for associated FEED contract tendering
• Independent U.S. energy company - advising on LNG sales agreements for LNG export form the U.S.
• EG LNG Holding Company - advising on port and shipping arrangements for the LNG and Methanol exports from the shared port facilities Malabo, Equatorial Guinea; advising on various commercial and operational matters arising under the EG LNG project agreements
• Sponsor consortium (BTC Co.) - $3.6 billion BTC crude oil pipeline and in connection with the project agreements and issues relating to the project financing, as well as EPC contracts; also advised a potential purchaser of an interest in the BTC oil pipeline; selected as "Deal of the Decade," 2000-2010 for its scope, scale and success by Infrastructure Journal, Annual Awards 2011
• BP-led consortium, and later the project company - $3.2 billion SCP (Shah Deniz) natural gas pipeline, including host government agreements, structuring documents and natural gas sales and transportation agreements and EPC contracts
• Marathon Oil Corporation - second train for the EG LNG project in Equatorial Guinea, including structuring and negotiation of cross-border pipeline arrangements with parties in Cameroon and Nigeria as well as assisting with the preparation and negotiation of treaties with the governments of Nigeria and Cameroon, drafting of EPC arrangements for the pipelines and new LNG train, and the LNG sales and purchase agreements. Advice on the sale of an equity stake in the EG LNG project
• Nigerian bank - commercial and asset due diligence relating to the financing of a gas pipeline project
• GDF Suez - aspects of its acquisition of an interest in the Nordstream Pipeline holding company
• Government of Croatia - advising on the sale to MOL of a strategic 25% stake in the state oil & gas company INA, and associated advice on the privatisation and liberalisation of the Croatian oil & gas sector
• Various international oil and gas companies - advising on a range of asset swaps, oils and gas transportation and processing agreements and oil and gas product sales arrangements, drilling contracts, FPSO related agreements and developments and a range of contractual and corporate joint venture and operator agreements
• Independent U.S. energy company - advising on a range of historic commercial agreements relating to interests in and gas supply arrangements to a proposed Yemen LNG Plant
• Independent U.S. energy company - advising on various liquids and gas processing, gas sales, transportation and associated infrastructure arrangements, Trinidad and Tobago
• GDF Suez - advising on a planned divestment of interests in a joint venture company (EFOG) holding interests in the North Sea Elgin Franklin field with TOTAL
• Cieco U.K. (Itochu Corporation) - advising on aspects of the development of the UK North Sea Western Isles Field; advising on a range of UK Joint Operating Agreement commercial and operational issues including Hudson Field decommissioning security arrangements; and matters associated with the contract for decommissioning the NW Hutton Field
• Various European gas companies - advising on long term gas sales agreements and disputes there under
• U.S. chemical company - advising on a bid for proposed acquisition of Innovene petrochemical company from BP

Mergers and Acquisitions - International

• Rosneft - advising on the acquisition of 30% interest in the Zohr gas field, Egypt, from Eni
• Sinochem - advising on the US$3.1 billion acquisition of a 40% interest in the Peregrino oilfield, Brazil form Statoil
• Repsol - advising on acquisition of Talisman
• Cobalt - advising on the sale of its Angola offshore portfolio to Sonangol
• Hamra Oil Holdings - advising o the acquisition of interests in Blocks 2 and 3 Malawi
• RAK Gas LLC - advising on sale of interests in a production sharing contract in Tanzania
• GDF Suez - advising on the acquisition of various PSC interests in Egypt, Libya, Indonesia and Qatar
• Petrogas E&P LLC - advising on the acquisition of an interest in an Oman PSC from Maersk, an Egyptian Service Contract interest from Oil Search, an exploration interest in Somaliland from DNO, an interest in a PSC in Mozambique from Sasol and various upstream opportunities in Angola, Oman and Tunisia
• KNOC - advising on farm-in agreements and JOAs in respect of Yemen production sharing agreement interests
• Itochu Corporation - advising on a Farm-in in Namibia from Tullow Oil
• GDF Suez - advising on the acquisition of Absheron PSA interest in Azerbaijan
• DNO - advising on various farm-out transactions and JOA matters in Yemen
• U.S. independent oil and gas company - advising on farm-ins to Turkish exploration licences and to a PSC in Mauritania
• Independent U.S. oil and gas company - advising on the acquisition, divestiture and portfolio management of various interests, offshore Trinidad and Tobago
• Sasol - advising on the potential farm-in to licences in Papua New Guinea

PSA / Service Contract Specific Work

• RAK Gas LLC in the negotiation and drafting of the first Production Sharing Contract in Zanzibar (Federal Union of Tanzania), including discussion with the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar of new Model PSA terms and alignment of new production sharing contract terms to the new Oil and Gas (Upstream) Act and international industry standards
• Qatar Petroleum in the drafting and negotiation of the new concession for the cross-border (Qatar / Abu Dhabi) Bunduq oilfield
• West African national oil company on the development of terms for a PSC for non-associated gas and the related gas development agreement
• Qatar Petroleum in the review of the contractual arrangements with Maersk for the Al-Shaheen oil field, strategy review and analysis of possible contractual regime structures for the re-tender of the oilfield and development of the optimal contractual structure to be offered to future investors for the development of the field
• Marathon Oil in the negotiation of and entry into the Harir PSC and the acquisition of interests in the Sarsang and Artrush PSC in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq with the Government of the KRG
• International oil company in the analysis of fiscal terms in Angolan PSCs in preparation for negotiations with Sonangol for amendment of the PSCs
• Independent oil company in the negotiation of strategic alliance agreements with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation relating to rights under Oil Mining Licences, Nigeria
• Russian national oil company in strategic cooperation agreement with PDVSA for upstream concession operations, Venezuela
• Maersk Oil on its review and comments on the terms of the Development and Production Sharing Agreement in Bahrain in connection with competitive bid process

North Sea and UK

• Itochu Corporation on the sale of Cieco E&P UK Limited (including Western Isles Field) to Verus Petroleum Limited
• Neptune – on the acquisition of interests from Apache Corporation in the Seagull development and Isabella prospect
• Cieco U.K. (Itochu Corporation) - advising on range of corporate and asset acquisitions and disposals in the North Sea including acquisition of an interest in the oil producing Alba Field, acquisition of various exploration interests in the UK and Faroe Islands sectors, and sale of an interest in the NW Hutton Field
• Independent U.S. oil and gas company - advising on a range of North Sea asset exchange and farm-in and farm-out arrangements
• GDF Suez - advising on a range of asset acquisitions and group restructurings of North Sea interests, and the acquisition of CalEnergy Gas (U.K.) Ltd
• PGNiG Norway - advising on the potential acquisition of Norwegian exploration licences and gas transportation and processing facilities
• Cieco - acquisition of interest in the Cardhu Field, West of Shetland
• Noble Energy - exchange of interests in the Hannah, Buchan and Tweedsmuir Fields with the Macculloch Field with Talisman Energy
• Cieco - acquisition of interest in the Anne Marie Field, Faroe Islands from Faroe Petroleum
• GDF Suez - sale of North Sea interests in the Anglia and Topaz fields and other development blocks to Ithaca Energy and the sale of a Schooner Field interest to Tullow
• GDF Suez - advising on the acquisition of Brae and SAGE assets from Eni and subsequent sale of those assets to Marathon
• GDF Suez - advising on a range of asset acquisitions and group restructurings of North Sea interests, and the acquisition of CalEnergy Gas (U.K.) Ltd
• Independent U.S. oil and gas company - advising on a range of North Sea asset exchange and farm-in and farm-out arrangements
• GDF Suez - advising on acquisition of UK onshore shale licence investments from Dart Energy and subsequent sale to INEOS

Drilling

• Engie E&P UK Ltd - advising on terms of drilling contract for onshore (shale) drilling programme in the UK
• International Drilling Contractor - advising on joint venture arrangements for the importation of a drilling rig into Nigeria and the entry into drilling contracts in Nigeria
• North American Energy Company - advising in connection with the amendment and assignment of a number of drilling contracts entered into in respect of a drilling campaign offshore West Africa

Environmental and Climate Change

• Polaroid Corporation - advising on various product and labeling and waste management compliance issues with respect to EU environmental Directives
• Independent U.S. energy company - advising on application for project approval of Methanol Plant, Equatorial Guinea under the Kyoto protocol CDM mechanism
• Independent U.S. oil and company - advising on Yemen LNG gas feedstock contracts and production sharing contract environmental compliance issues, in an international arbitration against the Government of Yemen
• French genetically modified seed producer - advising on product licensing agreements
• U.S. chemical company - advising on sale of EU emissions allowances through ISDA Master Agreement

Contentious, Other Corporate and Data Protection

• Nigerian Bank - advising on commercial and asset due diligence relating to the financing of a gas pipeline project
• U.S. engineering and energy services company - advising on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations concerning activities in Nigeria and Iran
• SUBtv Group - advising on various financing subscriptions, group restructuring and general corporate matters
• Liberty Media - advising on contentious matters relating to the acquisition of European cable assets
• Kraft Foods - advising on international transfers of personal data
• MasterCard Services - advising on various UK and European data protection issues

Listed in Chambers UK for Energy & Natural Resources: Oil & Gas, 2015-2020

Recognised in The Legal 500 UK for Projects & Energy:Oil & Gas and Emerging Markets, 2015-2020

Honoured as a "Thought Leader for Energy" in Who's Who Legal, 2017 & 2018

Recognised by Who's Who Legal: Energy, 2013-2018

Recognised by Chambers UK as "Up and Coming," 2012 & 2013

Listed in International Who's Who Oil & Gas Lawyers, 2011