White and Case advises GNPC on Landmark LNG project

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) on a landmark liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification project located in Tema, Ghana.

Under the structure of the deal, Gazprom Global LNG Limited, a global subsidiary of global energy giant PAO Gazprom (Gazprom), the world's largest gas producer, will supply LNG and convert it into gas through a regasification terminal at Tema, before selling the converted natural gas to GNPC.

London-based White & Case partner Mukund Dhar, who led the Firm's deal team, said: "White & Case has worked with GNPC to produce a commercial structure that leverages Gazprom's unique portfolio of assets and balance sheet to reduce the risk to GNPC, while at the same time facilitating Gazprom's access to a key regional market. Once completed, this project will deliver Sub-Saharan Africa's first floating regasification facility and position Ghana as a regional energy hub in Africa."

The project's proposed technical configuration comprises a floating regasification barge, floating storage unit and a pipeline to an existing gas grid in Tema. The contract with Gazprom is expected to significantly increase energy security in Ghana, providing the country with approximately 250 mmcf/d of competitively-priced gas. The contract volumes will satisfy more than 1,000 MW of thermal generating capacity.

White & Case partner Chris Czarnocki, who heads the banking emerging markets team in London and is a GNPC relationship partner, said: "White & Case has been advising on matters in Africa for more than 40 years, and this complex, cross-border deal is another example of the capabilities and experience that clients rely on to ensure they achieve their goals.

In this instance, we supported the implementation of a comprehensive, long term and beneficial solution for the power sector in Ghana. This milestone transaction brings together one of Africa's largest and most prominent national oil companies and the world's largest gas producer."

White & Case is a leading global law firm with lawyers in 41 offices across 29 countries. Among the first US-based law firms to establish a truly global presence, clients rely on the Firm for their complex cross-border transactions and value both the breadth of its global network and the depth of its US, English and local law capabilities in each of the regions in which it operates.

White & Case has been a leading advisor on African matters for more than 40 years, and was the first international law firm to establish an on-the-ground presence in Johannesburg in 1995.

Clients in Africa are also served from the Firm's offices in London, Paris, Washington, DC, Beijing and the United Arab Emirates. White & Case has won many awards for its work in Africa, including being named ‘Best Law Firm in Africa' on several occasions by EMEA Finance magazine.

The White & Case team in London which advised on the transaction was led by partner Mukund Dhar with support from associates Harry Brendon and Ahyoung Koo. The team worked with Ghanaian firm Cromwell & Gray.