| Dewey & LeBoeuf | Stand out | Setting up and facilitating the Atlantic Wind Connection Project | 9 | 9 | 7 | 25 | A partner from the firm came up with the idea for the project and the firm continues to act as project counsel. This is one of the most significant initiatives to harness the potential of off-shore energy and one that has been actively facilitated by the firm, which shouldered some of the development risk. |
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| Sullivan & Cromwell | Stand out | Exxon Mobil’s $18bn project to supply liquefied natural gas from Papua New Guinea to China | 7 | 7 | 8 | 22 | Expected to double the gross domestic product of Papua New Guinea, the firm created the joint marketing and borrowing structure designed to replicate what the credit rating would have been if there had been a single entity. The challenge for the lawyers lay in the scale and number of parties to the project. |
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| White & Case | Stand out | Financing offshore drillships for Brazil on the Odebrecht Norbe project VIII and IX | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 | Acting for the lenders in the largest project bond issued in Brazil, the firm developed and cornered the market for this work with their expertise. The firm's documents are now used as a reference for these deals. |
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| Davis Polk & Wardwell | Stand out | Cobalt International Energy $1bn initial public offering | 7 | 8 | 6 | 21 | Coming up with how to describe the exploration and production company in a way that satisfied the US Securities and Exchange Commission and appealed to investors. Succeeding where others had failed and managing to get the confidence of the board, Richard Truesdell’s prospectus drafting was considered to display fine judgment. |
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| Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | Stand out | Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia’s financing of the first nuclear generating plant to be built in 30 years | 6 | 7 | 8 | 21 | Liaising with stakeholders across the public / private spectrum, the firm created a template for funding projects of this scale and nature with US Department of Energy assistance that has drawn attention across the industry. |
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| Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton | Highly commended | JPMorgan Chase’s purchase of RBS-Sempra’s energy and commodity business | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 | Handled a complex transfer of trading relationships in different market sectors before the deal closed. The deal emphasised the importance of transitional arrangements to preserve the value of the business during negotiations. Transformed its client's business in this sector. |
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| Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | Highly commended | Helping BrightSource Energy raise nearly a $1bn over two years | 6 | 6 | 8 | 20 | In the largest Department of Energy transaction to date, the firm answered policy questions and provided a template for loan programmes on solar projects. |
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| Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | Highly commended | Alta Wind Deal II-V for Terra-Gen Power | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 | Showing exceptional commitment, the firm represented the lenders in the financing of the largest US wind project. It was vital to the sponsors in their structuring of the project on a forward commitment basis. |
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| Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | Highly commended | KKR’s novel “ground-up” investment approach to its acquisitions in the oil and gas industry | 7 | 7 | 6 | 20 | Created a unique template, via three new "build-up platforms" and partnership agreements with independent energy management teams for KKR to pursue oil and gas investments. |
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| Latham & Watkins | Highly commended | Representing Credit Suisse in the bankruptcy of Bosque Power | 6 | 7 | 6 | 19 | Achieved a judgment that can now be referenced and replicated; the ruling terminated the debtor's initial period of exclusivity to solicit acceptances of its plan of reorganisation. Persuaded the equity holders to buy into the plan and structured the new business so that investors were not overly burdened with regulations. |
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| Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison | Highly commended | Splitting Encana into two pure-play energy companies | 6 | 7 | 6 | 19 | After a reorganisation plan was derailed owing to the credit crisis, the firm employed the application of Canadian and US multi-jurisdictional disclosure rules to avoid long approvals. The spin-off went ahead and both companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange. |
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| Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld | Commended | Bridas’s deals with BP and CNOOC, worth a total of about 10bn dollars | 5 | 6 | 7 | 18 | Communicative attitude and cross-jurisdictional expertise enabled Akin Gump to facilitate a solid legal structure that was flexible enough to accommodate the needs of a wide range of stakeholders. |
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| Latham & Watkins | Commended | Atlantic Wind Connection Project | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | Acting for the main investors, the firm structured the investment and subsequent documentation, helping the client road-test different ideas. |
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| Mayer Brown | Commended | Panama canal widening | 6 | 7 | 5 | 18 | Acting for the Panama Canal Authority, partner Barry Machlin identified a problem within the contracts, inserting clauses to protect the expansion project should the surety companies have their credit ratings downgraded. |
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| Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton | Commended | Petrobras’ $67bn global equity offering | 5 | 5 | 7 | 17 | In the largest share offering in history, the firm navigated the restrictions across multiple jurisdictions. It had an important role in pursuing equality for shareholders and granting existing ones pre-emptive purchasing rights. |
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| Fulbright & Jaworski | Commended | Anadarko Petroleum’s deepwater oil and gas exploration in Ghana | 5 | 6 | 6 | 17 | This deal was the first unitisation of offshore blocks in Ghana in the Jubilee Field, estimated to hold 1.8bn barrels. The firm helped with the opaque approval process and educating the Ghanaian government. |
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| K&L Gates | Commended | Parcelling out the company town of Scotia to enable the acquisition of the power plant by Recycled Energy Development | 6 | 6 | 5 | 17 | The transaction involved the disaggregation of the cogeneration facility from a company town in which every asset was owned by a single entity. It was complex because of the number of stakeholders and issues involved. |
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| Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | Commended | Fisker Automotive’s electric cars | 5 | 6 | 6 | 17 | In a deal that proves the viability of the clean technology industry and incentivised similar deals during the recession, the firm secured one of only a few loans from the Department of Energy for Fisker to manufacture technologically advanced electric cars. |
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