Property & Infrastructure

Energy & Natural Resources

Simpson Grierson is the legal partner of choice for the New Zealand energy and resources sector.

Our lawyers provide market-leading advice to clients across the whole of this sector: oil and gas (upstream, production, wholesale and retail), LPG, electricity, minerals (coal, gold, hard rock aggregates), and renewable energy. Our clients include the Crown, major international and New Zealand corporates, and industry bodies.

Our energy practice extends across all practices of the firm: corporate, commercial, banking, construction, employment, resource management consenting, and litigation. We advise on a range of acquisitions, project structures, joint ventures, securities issues (including both private placements and public offers of securities), foreign investment approvals (where needed), and risk allocation issues. We also advise on day-to-day operational issues and regulatory matters.

For upstream and minerals participants, we engage with Crown Minerals and advise clients on the applications process, permitting, and royalty regimes under the Crown Minerals Act. We are involved in most of New Zealand's significant upstream oil and gas exploration and development projects (including the Maui, Pohokura, and Kupe gas fields and the Maari and Tui oil fields).

In the electricity and downstream oil and gas sectors, we advise on a range of procurement and supply arrangements, product and distribution arrangements, market rules, and compliance issues. 

Our lawyers are active within the Energy Law Association, Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand, New Zealand Wind Energy Association, Aotearoa Wave and Tidal Energy Association, and the Resource Management Law Association.

View Our Experience

Our Experience

  • BP Oil - principal legal adviser on all of its New Zealand operations, including refinery processing, coastal shipping, terminals and distribution, commercial supply, retail and independent dealers
  • BP Oil New Zealand - sale of the South-West Pacific fuels business (comprising operations in seven Pacific islands)
  • OMV New Zealand - New Zealand oil and gas portfolio, including development of the Pohokura field, the sale of Pohokura gas, renegotiation of the Maui field arrangements, access arrangements for the Maui pipeline, Maari oil project and general joint venture issues
  • New Zealand Oil and Gas - oil and gas portfolio including Kupe development and gas sales matters, Tui exploration and other exploration prospects
  • BOC/Linde – advice on a range of issues affecting its New Zealand's commercial LPG business and shareholding in Liquigas, including acquisition of this business from Shell New Zealand
  • Transpower – major transmission upgrade projects (resource consenting, procurement and build contracts), system operation issues arrangements (including negotiation of the long-term system operator contract with the Electricity Commission), and application of market rules and other regulatory requirements (including Electricity Governance Rules and targeted price control)
  • Cargill - investment in the Spring Creek mining venture, including acquisition, shareholder, operating, transport and sale contracts
  • Oceana Gold (New Zealand) - $67 million dual currency operating lease facility for its new mining fleet and the extension of its secured syndicated bank facilities (including gold hedging facility)
  • BG Group - proposed acquisition of Origin Energy (Australia), including Takeovers Code exemption applications relating to the upstream acquisition of the shareholding interest in Contact Energy and Newmont
  • Waihi Gold - mine development and operations contracts for both the Favona underground mine and Martha open cast mine; plant supply and install contracts, and various land and land use consenting matters
  • The Crown - sale of its central North Island geothermal assets to Mighty River Power
  • Mighty River Power - establishment and separation issues arising from the split of ECNZ into three state owned enterprises
  • Mighty River Power - acquisition of Southdown gas-fired power station and associated issues
  • Energex - arrangements with the line companies of Vector and Waikato Electricity, and the acquisition of businesses and maintenance arrangements from United Networks
  • Northpower – commercial arrangements, including acquisition of Energex's New Zealand operations
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