Wikborg Rein appoints new shipping and energy partners in London

LEADING international law firm Wikborg Rein has appointed two new partners and a senior lawyer to its Shipping, Trade, Energy & Infrastructure team in London.

Renaud Barbier-Emery, who joins Wikborg Rein as a partner from Ince & Co, is a specialist in the energy, maritime and international trade sectors on both transactional and contentious matters. His practice focuses on the development and financing of offshore energy projects, most frequently for the publicly listed owners of large fleets of drilling units, FPSOs and LNG vessels.

Renaud also acts for shipowners, shipbuilders, financiers and investors on a range of transactions involving the construction, conversion, repair, sale & purchase, leasing, chartering, management and financing of vessels, as well as advising on joint ventures. In addition, he advises on a wide range of transactional trade finance matters.

Renaud recently participated as part of the Wikborg Rein team which advised Belgian gas carrier operator Exmar on its agreement with Argentina’s YPF for the long-term deployment at Bahia Blanca of the Caribbean FLNG unit, now renamed Tango FLNG, to produce and export LNG from Argentina.

Jonathan Goldfarb, who also joins as a partner from Ince & Co, specialises in energy and trading projects across the oil and gas and renewables sectors. He advises on project tendering, vessel construction and conversion, and financing, sale and purchase and leasing arrangements for FPSOs, FSOs, FSRUs, LNGCs, FLNG, drilling units and drillships.

Jonathan also acts for international traders in relation to structured trade finance transactions and trading projects. He represents some of the world’s largest contractors and energy traders, as well as financing banks, and handles a wide variety of projects in the energy and trading sector. He has been particularly active on Floating Storage and Regasification (FSRU) projects in the LNG sector.

Meanwhile, senior lawyer Ina Lutchmiah has also joined Wikborg Rein from Ince & Co. Ina has particular expertise in LNG projects and other offshore energy transactions, and her experience includes advising on the decommissioning and recycling of offshore assets and long-term charters for FSRU projects.

Chris Grieveson, manager partner of Wikborg Rein’s London office, says, “We are delighted to welcome Renaud, Jonathan and Ina to our team. Their appointments continue Wikborg Rein’s policy of recruiting experienced and respected industry professionals who will strengthen still further the firm’s reputation as a leading specialist in the shipping and energy sectors.”


Wikborg Rein's London office was established in 1987. The office specialises in shipping, energy, construction, international arbitration and all other forms of dispute resolution. In addition, it handles financing, corporate and cross-border transactions. The London office has both English and Norwegian lawyers who all possess broad expertise within Wikborg Rein's specialist areas. The London office is also the hub of the firm’s international English law practice focusing on shipping, energy and construction matters worldwide. www.wr.no

AKD says lack of ship definition is threat to offshore and wind farm investors

ROTTERDAM-based law firm AKD says the lack of an unambiguous term to describe a ‘ship’ in several jurisdictions represents a potential threat to asset security for financiers, particularly in the offshore and renewable energy sectors.

AKD partner Haco van der Houven van Oordt says, “In many jurisdictions, including the US and the UK, there appears to be no clear definition of a ship. A recent Tulane Maritime Law Journal study illustrated how a variety of floating objects which have no means of propulsion and/or ability to carry cargo or passengers cannot easily be registered as a ship. FPSOs and MODUs, but also FTUs for offshore wind farms, fall into this category.

“Hence, securing asset finance for such units, the value of which can run into millions and even billions of dollars, may be problematic in many countries. Because the units are not ships, they cannot be entered in a ship registry, and no security such as a ship mortgage can be recorded.

“In the Kingdom of the Netherlands, including the Dutch Caribbean, it is a different story. These jurisdictions clearly define ships as ‘all objects which, according to their construction, are destined to float and which float or have done so’. There is no requirement for propulsion, and no need to demonstrate the ability of a unit to navigate and/or to carry cargo or passengers. All floating offshore structures can therefore be registered there.”

Attempts to establish a definitive categorisation of the term ‘ship’ in various jurisdictions have historically led to confusion and litigation. AKD partner Carel van Lynden notes, “This clearly is not acceptable to the financiers of the sorts of high-value, technologically advanced units operating in today’s offshore and renewable energy sectors. Lenders should be aware of the alternative and obtain a security right over floating units which are registered in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. ”

Note to editors
AKD’s Transport & Energy team provides a full range of legal services. AKD is a full-service firm with over 250 lawyers. www.akd.nl

Bureau Veritas to class and certify KAOMBO FPSOs for Saipem

Bureau Veritas has been awarded a contract by Saipem to provide classification and certification services for the two KAOMBO FPSOs for service off Angola.

The US$4bn project for the FPSOs was awarded to Saipem by Total for the engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning of two converted turret-moored Floating Production Storage and Offloading units (FPSOs) for the Kaombo Field Development Project, located in Block 32, offshore Angola. Bureau Veritas will oversee the conversion of the vessels and class the floaters in service, while certifying the topsides and turret assemblies.

Marie-Francoise Renard, Offshore Sales and Marketing Director, Bureau Veritas, says, “Saipem entrusted Bureau Veritas with this important contract because we could meet their three key needs. They sought a third-party company with sufficient FPSO experience to deal with a challenging first conversion project for Total, the third-party had to have sufficient resources in South-East Asia for the follow-up of the conversion of two large FPSOs more or less in parallel, and, crucially, they needed to work with a company that has the capacity to work in Angola for local content issues during the EPC and in service phases for at least 15 years. Bureau Veritas, as a global FPSO leader, is able to match those needs with major teams already in Asian yards and a strong track record in Angola, especially with local content.”

Two VLCCs will be converted into FPSOs at Sembawang shipyard, Singapore. Each will have an oil treating capacity of 115,000 barrels per day, a water injection capacity of 200,000 barrels per day, a 100 million scfd gas compression capacity and a storage capacity of 1.7 million barrels of oil. Part of the activities related to engineering, procurement, topsides modules fabrication and integration as well as commissioning onshore and offshore works will be carried out in Angola. The topsides fabrication activities will be undertaken in Saipem’s Karimun Island Yard, located in Indonesia. The first FPSO unit will be operational by the first quarter of 2017 and the second unit by the second quarter of the same year.

Bureau Veritas is one of the big three major class societies active in the offshore field and is a leader in FPSOs. In total it has worked on around 140 FPSOs. Today, it classes around 50 in service and is classing or verifying another ten currently under construction.
http://www.saipem.com

VISIT Bureau Veritas at ONS Stand No J961

Bureau Veritas is a world leader in conformity assessment and certification services. Created in 1828, the Group has 61,000 employees in around 1,330 offices and laboratories located in 140 countries. Bureau Veritas helps its clients to improve their performance by offering services and innovative solutions in order to ensure that their assets, products, infrastructure and processes meet standards and regulations in terms of quality, health and safety, environmental protection and social responsibility.

www.bureauveritas.com for corporate information

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For more information:

Marie-Francoise Renard,
Offshore Sales and Marketing Director
Bureau Veritas
+33 (0) 1 55 24 72 36
marie-francoise.renard@bureauveritas.com


Philippe Boisson
Bureau Veritas
+33 (0)1 55 24 71 98
philippe.boisson@bureauveritas.com