Rob Thompson

Rob’s experience includes advising:

Oil and Gas (Including LNG) and Petrochemicals

• The project company and sponsors on project financing for the 6 MTPA Dhamra LNG import terminal in Odisha, India; awarded “Asia-Pacific Refinance Deal of the Year” at the IJGlobal Awards 2024 and "Most Innovative Deal: South Asia" at the FinanceAsia Achievement Awards 2024
• KEXIM, K-Sure, JBIC, NEXI, other ECAs, and lenders on US$20 billion project development and financing of the proposed Papua LNG Project in Papua New Guinea
• The lenders (including the Islamic finance institutions) on the limited recourse US$1.8 billion Jambaran-Tiung Biru gas processing plant financing by Pertamina EP Cepu in Indonesia; the project was financed through a trustee borrowing scheme structure and was the first trustee borrowing scheme structure to incorporate an Islamic finance tranche alongside the conventional interest-bearing tranche*
• A major international commodities trader on a crude oil prepayment arrangement and back-to-back limited recourse financing to purchase Indonesian crude oil
• PTTEP Sarawak Oil Limited (a subsidiary of PTT Exploration and Production) on the strategic disposal of a minority participating interest in block SK405B, an upstream oil and gas block offshore Sarawak, Malaysia, to Petronas Carigali (a subsidiary of PETRONAS)
• PTTEP HK Holding Limited (a subsidiary of PTT Exploration and Production) on acquiring Jadestone Energy’s 27.18% equity stake in APICO LLC, which holds a 35% non-operated participating interest in the Sinphuhorm gas field and a 100% participating interest in the Dong Mun gas discovery, onshore Thailand
• Unioil Petroleum Philippines on long-term fuel supply and lubricants distribution arrangements connected to its sale of a 25% stake to Aramco
• Yinson Holdings Berhad and Sumitomo Corporation on financing the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel Anna Nery chartered by Petrobras for its Marlim field in the Campos Basin offshore Rio de Janeiro*
• Citibank and Santander, as global coordinators; HSBC, ING, JP Morgan, and Natixis, as joint bookrunners; and Bladex (NY branch), Mizuho, Ramirez & Co., and Standard Chartered, as co-managers, on Yinson Boronia Production B.V.’s 144A/Reg S offering of its US$1.035 billion 8.947% Senior Secured Notes due 2042 to refinance the FPSO Anna Nery; the first FPSO project bond in Latin America with a letter of credit facility to fund the reserve accounts where the issuer was also the borrower under the credit facility
• The project company on developing and financing (including an Islamic financing facility alongside conventional financing) an aromatics complex, including a fully integrated condensate splitter and aromatics plant, in Pengerang, Johor, Malaysia
• Chandra Asri Group on acquiring refinery facilities, an ethylene cracker, and downstream chemical assets in Singapore
• A confidential bidder on its bid for OMV’s 50% stake in SapuraOMV, including upstream assets in Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico
• The lenders on financing the Woodfibre LNG Project in Canada*
• The sponsors and borrower on the greenfield project financing of a large-scale gas-fired power plant and LNG floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) charter in Brazil*
• The International Finance Corporation, UK Export Finance, and commercial lenders on Vitol’s US$1.5 billion development financing of Ghana’s OCTP oil and gas field, including guarantees from the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and International Development Agency*
• A European oil and gas major on unitizing its interests in Mozambique’s Rovuma basin*
• EBRD on the US$75 million borrowing base facility for an independent oil and gas exploration and production company*
• A US private credit fund on highly structured holdco financing for a large regional conglomerate’s acquisition of offshore interests from multiple US supermajors in Southeast Asia*
• Nabors Industries on its onshore rig joint venture with Saudi Aramco in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia*
• A purchaser on the €5.1 billion acquisition of a major European oil and gas company*
• The ECAs (including JBIC), commercial banks, and Islamic financial institutions on the PetroRabigh Refining and Petrochemicals Expansion Project in Saudi Arabia*
• The lenders on bridge-to-bond financing for a large Indonesian energy company*
• The lenders on a £585 million financing for the acquisition of an international supermajor’s North Sea pipeline and related onshore facilities*
• The lenders on the US$2.5 billion debt refinancing of Sapura TMC Sdn Bhd and a separate MYR700 million Islamic working capital and invoice financing facility*

Digital Infrastructure

• A consortium led by Starwood Capital Group, Sixth Street, and SSW Partners on the US$7.1 billion take-private of ESR Group Limited (including diligence on the data center business)
• A confidential US-based global infrastructure investment fund in connection with its bid to acquire a regional data center business
• KKR on investing in OMS Group, a Malaysia-based telecom infrastructure company and provider of subsea cable services
• VEON on long-term master site and tower arrangements for telco towers in Pakistan

Energy Transition and Nuclear Power

• KEXIM and the commercial lenders on the US$24.4 billion financing of the Barakah nuclear energy project in Abu Dhabi*
• ADB, JBIC, NEXI, and the other lenders on project financing for the expansion of the Muara Laboh geothermal power project in West Sumatra, Indonesia
• A multinational solar power project developer based in Singapore on structuring and documenting global master framework supply arrangements to procure photovoltaic solar modules for its global solar power projects
• AC Energy Holdings on an up to PHP11 billion (roughly US$200 million) sustainability-linked loan facility extended by the Asian Development Bank and the Bank of the Philippine Islands for the Giga Ace 8 Solar Power Project in the Philippines
• Ayala on an up to US$100 million sustainability-linked financing provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to the procurement and installation of electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) and the commercial distribution of electric vehicles within the Philippines
• ib vogt (Singapore), a leading utility-scale solar development platform, on a US$80 million holdco financing provided by Pentagreen Capital and British International Investment to finance the development and construction of solar, hybrid solar, and battery storage projects in the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia
• Pentagreen Capital on its inaugural lending transaction into the Philippines, featuring an up to US$100 million term-loan facility for Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation to finance the development of a slate of greenfield solar power projects
• The borrower on the JBIC- and ADB-supported US$1.17 billion project financing of a 330 MW Sarulla geothermal power project in Northern Sumatra, the largest single geothermal power project in Indonesia; this was the first greenfield geothermal power project in Indonesia to reach a successful signing of limited-recourse project finance documentation since Wayang Windu Unit 1, and one of the first geothermal projects under Indonesia’s Independent Power Producer (IPP) scheme, which served as a precedent for future geothermal power projects in Indonesia*
• The purchasers on the £160 million acquisition and financing of offshore transmission assets in the UK North Sea*

Conventional Power Generation and Transmission

• Engie Energy International (formerly International Power) and the project company as sponsor/borrower on the US$390 million project development and financing of the KEXIM-backed 404 MW combined cycle gas-fired Uch II power project in Pakistan, which involved a Shari’ah-compliant financing and mixed conventional/Islamic financing; this was the first IPP facility put together under power policy introduced by Pakistan’s government in 2002
• Kadita Partners on the term loan facilities for a fully integrated physical commodity trading business focused on the energy coal sector
• AES, a leading global energy company selling its 51% equity stake in the Mong Duong 2 coal-fired plant in Vietnam to Sev.en Global investments
• JBIC and the commercial lenders on the Shuweihat S2 IWPP in Abu Dhabi*
• The project company on developing the Marlim Azul CCGT IPP in Brazil*
• KEXIM, Euler Hermes, and the commercial lenders on the Barka 3 and Sohar 2 IPPs in Oman*
• The project company on financing aspects of the Al Dur IWPP in Bahrain*
• A major Scandinavian electricity distributor as borrower on the circa €2 billion bond and bank debt refinancing of acquisition debt*

Mining and Metals

• A nickel mining company on joint venture arrangements with international investors and the limited recourse project financing for a c. 150 KTPA HPAL nickel smelter in Indonesia
• The sponsors on developing and financing of a roughly 1 MTPA copper smelter and precious metal refinery*
• MIND ID on acquiring an increased shareholding from 20% to 34% in PT Vale (PTVI), an Indonesia-based nickel mining and processing company, including in respect of long-term offtake arrangements
• A major regional investment fund in connection with a structured acquisition financing for certain mining assets in Indonesia
• KfW IPEX-Bank on financing the redevelopment of the Sangdong Tungsten Mine in the Republic of South Korea*
• The lead sponsor and the project company on the potential ECA-backed financing of a platinum-palladium-gold-nickel-copper mining project in South Africa*
• A major Chinese state-owned enterprise on its US$1.5 billion investment in an iron ore mine in Africa*

Transport and Other Infrastructure

• The concessionaire on an EIB-backed €1.8 billion refinancing for a major European toll-road concession backed by EU state-aid approved sovereign credit support*
• A UK utility on the £4 billion procurement of a major infrastructure project*

*Matter handled prior to joining Latham