Jeff Nichols, head of Haynes Boone Energy Practice Group, recently spoke with Bloomberg Law about the surge of investment by major Japanese companies in U.S. natural gas assets and the role Texas law firms are playing in these transactions.
Read an excerpt from the article below.
“The investment by the Japanese has shifted the narrative from ‘optional diversification’ to ‘survival,’” said Jeff Nichols, the Houston-based chair of Haynes Boone’s energy group. The firm advised two companies selling $398 million worth of assets to Japanese joint venture JERA Co. last year.
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Sellers will have to pay “billions of dollars on their hedges in April,” but won’t get the benefit of physical sales from April until May or June, said Nichols. “The system is under strain.”
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Haynes Boone, for instance, has a shipping group to handle ships that transport the LNG, and projects lawyers that focus on the construction of LNG facilities, said Nichols. Each of these areas need “specialized industry knowledge,” he said.
Read the full article on Bloomberg Law here.
