Charez X. Golvala

Partner

Practice Description

Charez Golvala is a corporate lawyer with a focus on transactions and projects in the energy industry. Mr. Golvala has a broad corporate practice, advising clients from start-ups to multinationals on mergers, acquisitions and disposals, joint ventures, corporate finance and many other commercial transactions in a variety of sectors. Since joining Chadbourne & Parke, he has acquired extensive experience in Russia, the CIS and Middle East to add to his knowledge of regions as diverse as Trinidad & Tobago and the UK North Sea.

Mr. Golvala has over ten years’ experience in the oil and gas and natural resources sectors, both in the United Kingdom and abroad. His energy and projects experience extends to many different upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas agreements, project development contracts, abandonment arrangements, renewable energy projects and emissions trading developments. Mr. Golvala also has experience with environmental issues affecting corporate transactions and the energy industry. He has published articles on a variety of energy-related topics and lectures regularly on energy and natural resources issues.

Representative Matters

• Acting on behalf of the owners of Tarbagatay Munay LLP in connection with their agreements with Xinjiang Guanghui Industry Co. Ltd. regarding a gas, LNG and oilfield development project in Kazakhstan and China. 
• Acted for Evrotek Group on the $30 million investment in its Fresh retail business in Ukraine by Horizon Capital and IFC. 
• Assisted the majority shareholders of a holding company with interests in two significant oil fields in Kazakhstan on the $400 million sale of their shares to a Chinese company. 
• Advised Bank Hapoalim in relation to its announced $135.3 million acquisition of approximately 76% of the issued share capital of Ukrainian Innovation Bank from selling shareholders. 
• Advised Gazprom in relation to the shareholders’ agreement for the Shtokman gas and condensate field and LNG development project in the Barents Sea. 
• Acted for Marfin Popular Bank in relation to its acquisition of a 50.04% stake in Rossisysky Promishlenny Bank (Rosprombank) based in Moscow for €83 million.
• Advised Carlton Screen Advertising on the sale of its UK screen advertising business to Digital Cinema Media, a joint venture of Odeon and Cineworld.
• Acted for Bank of Cyprus on its acquisition of approximately 97% of Ukrainian bank AvtoZAZBank for €52 million.
• Assisted the owners of a chain of Ukrainian retail cosmetic stores with the sale of a strategic stake in the business to a consortium backed by Goldman Sachs and Sigma Bleyzer.
• Assisted Roxi Petroleum plc (an AIM-listed company) with its acquisition of certain Kazakh companies owning subsoil rights and its readmission to AIM.
• Advised ICT Group on its sale of a strategic interest in NOMOS Bank to the Czech PPF Group.
• Advised a Ukrainian property company in connection with the proposed $850 million disposal of a portfolio of property development assets to Ukraine’s leading real estate investment company.
• Assisted Dubai International Capital with its investment in a regional telecoms company.
• Advised International Insurance Company of Hannover on its investment in and brokerage arrangements with Synergy Insurance Services.
• Acted for Marfin Popular Bank on its $137.4 million acquisition of Marine Transport Bank and its affiliates in Ukraine.
• Acted for Chinese National Petroleum Corporation on the sale of part of its interest in the strategic Shymkent refinery in Kazakhstan to KazMunaiGaz. 
• Advised Chagala Group, a Kazakh hotel and real estate developer, in connection with its initial public offering of global depository receipts and admission to listing on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
• Acted for Endeavour Energy Corporation in connection with the acquisition of Talisman Expro, a company owning a portfolio of North Sea assets, for $414 million.
• Assisted BG Group in connection with the fourth train of Atlantic (LNG)'s facilities in Trinidad, including work on the development, funding and construction of the project. 
• Drafted, on behalf of BG Group, the fully termed gas transportation agreement for the Cross Island Pipeline in Trinidad. 
• Advised BG Group on the negotiation and drafting of a new joint operating agreement and amendment of the old one in order to transfer the operatorship of the Manatee field to Chevron. 
• Acted for Marubeni in its acquisition of Energy North Sea, a private equity backed company owning a portfolio of United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) assets. 
• Acted for the buyer in connection with the acquisition of assets in the West of Shetlands and Faroe Islands in exchange for other interests. 
• Advised in relation to the successful defeat of an attempt to exercise pre-emption rights in connection with a North Sea asset disposal. 
• Advised CNR International on its acquisition of approximately a further 31% interest in the Banff field. 
• Acted for Crédit Agricole Indosuez on the £20 million project financing of the development of three proven gas fields in the southern gas basin of the North Sea.
• Acted for Duke Energy and Ramco Energy on the development and project financing of the Seven Heads gas field in the Celtic Sea. 
• Advised Pathfinder Services on the acquisition of a Scottish drilling technology company. 
• Acted for BG Group on the reorganisation of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) business, including the potential sale of its ship chartering company. 
• Acted for Dynegy on its ultimately unsuccessful bid for two of Powergen’s power stations, including extensive structuring and due diligence work and amendment of the sale agreement. 
• Advised on the sale by auction of an interest in a power project in the Indian subcontinent. 
• Acted for The Berkeley Group plc, Chelsfield plc, Mansford Holdings plc and Compco Holdings plc on the acquisition of Chelsea Harbour Limited from P&O Property Holdings. 
• Advised a Japanese bank on the structuring, corporate and abandonment aspects of its financing of a major acquisition of assets in the southern gas basin of the UKCS. 
• Acted for DSM Energie NV, the Dutch natural resources company, in the sale of the upstream assets of its UK subsidiary in several packages to a number of purchasers. 
• Represented Savills in its joint venture with First Pacific Davies (UK) and the associated subscription for new ordinary shares in FPD Savills plc for £17.1 million. 
• Advised a major international integrated oil company on the operation and legal effect of production payment financing under English law in Russia. 
• Drafted and negotiated an abandonment agreement for the Beatrice Field in the North Sea, where only one licensee remained. 
• Acted for Cinven in a number of disposals of its investments in companies, including Westminster Healthcare and the flotation of regional newspaper group Newsquest plc. 
• Acted for Morrison Middlefield Resources on the sale of companies owning interests on the UKCS and in the Welton and related fields, the second largest onshore oilfield in the United Kingdom. 
• Negotiated detailed arrangements on behalf of non-operators of a major North Sea oilfield regarding the correct pricing and allocation of imported and owned gas. 
• Advised International Petroleum Corporation on the disposal of its UK subsidiaries. 
• Acted on behalf of institutional and individual vendors on the sale of NCA Group, the leading regional car auction business, to International Car Auctions Holdings. 
• Acted on the acquisition of two advertising, publication and post-production companies by the American media company Big Flower Holdings Inc.

Activities and Affiliations

Speeches and Events

Mr. Golvala is the author of the chapter on “Upstream Joint Ventures - bidding and operating agreements” in Oil and Gas: A Practical Handbook (edited by Geoffrey Picton-Turbervill and published by Globe Law and Business). Mr. Golvala is a frequent speaker at conferences on the energy industry and in particular has spoken about decommissioning liabilities in North Sea transactions; corporate issues in creating emissions trading systems; issues in mining laws and its application to financing mining projects; alternatives to production sharing contracts; and planning a major disposal in the energy and natural resources sectors.