About me
I’m a consultant with the firm, specialising in the energy, natural resources, shipbuilding and offshore construction sectors. It follows a career spanning more than 25 years, primarily as a disputes lawyer, including being a litigation team leader and an equity partner at another leading law firm.
My role is to advise energy companies, mining companies, builders, owners, sub-contractors and government-related entities, helping clients to navigate complex projects in the energy and natural resources sectors, particularly those involving engineering and construction contracts. The work involves identifying pre-contractual risks and opportunities in draft project documentation as well as resolving disputes during project execution and beyond.
My approach is always to try to get involved at the earliest stages of a project when it may still be possible to identify potential, rather than actual, disputes up ahead. If successful, it can avoid the need for dispute resolution altogether by achieving dispute eradication, which is eminently better. My philosophy, therefore, is to work collaboratively with my clients, helping them to spot issues and work around them commercially before they turn into potentially major disputes. Dare I say it: it’s about turning mountains into molehills!
My experience
- Acting for a Singaporean Shipyard in relation to the termination of newbuild contracts for two harsh environment semi-submersible drilling rigs. The matters involved several complex areas of law including allegations that the builder had failed to fulfil material obligations, repudiation, and termination.
- Advising a national oil company in Southeast Asia in relation to the development of an oil and gas field in Central Java, Indonesia. Drafting and negotiating applicable licenses, process guarantees and engineering agreements. Negotiating the EPC contract for a gas processing facility and related infrastructure. Dealing with issues arising in relation to an Integrated Development Agreement for the simultaneous production of gas and re-injection of carbon dioxide.
- Advising a Thai-listed bulk carrier owner/operator, in relation to a shipbuilding dispute with a Chinese shipyard in respect of a series of bulk carriers of 64,000 DWT. The dispute relates to alleged design defects in the stern tube and issues concerning the propulsion system, as well as issues of excessive fuel oil consumption and discrepancies between test bed results and sea trials. This required the handling of 14 concurrent arbitrations in London, as well as successfully defending an appeal to the English High Court in connection with an arbitration award involving a landmark decision on the prevention principle.
- Acting for an independent oil and gas company, in relation to a dispute with an FPSO owner/operator. The dispute related to sub-standard conversion works and the below par performance of the FPSO resulting from various defective processing and equipment systems, including a TMS. The dispute was subject to the jurisdiction of the English courts and settled quickly, following which we acted in the subsequent repair, sale and charter of the vessel.
- Acting for a state-owned Indonesian mining company in relation to a dispute with a US corporation under a contract for the supply of mining equipment. The dispute was subject to ICC arbitration in Singapore.
- Acting for a state-owned Chinese conglomerate in relation to a dispute under a contract for the supply of coal from one of the largest commodity trading houses in the world. The dispute was subject to ad hoc arbitration in London.
