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Matthew Culver

Partner

Contact
CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
Cannon Place
78 Cannon Street
London
EC4N 6AF
United Kingdom
Languages English

Matthew Culver is a partner in the energy & climate change team specialising in major projects and M&A within the energy industry, in particular, the oil and gas and renewables sectors. 

Over the last 20 years, Matthew has advised developers, investors, contractors and governments in Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia and Middle East on all aspects of a major project lifecycle as well as advising both IOCs and NOCs on the acquisition and disposal of oil and gas interests worldwide (upstream, midstream and downstream).

In 2012, he established CMS’ presence in the Middle East and was Managing Partner of the Dubai office between 2012 – 2015. Matthew is also a member of the energy transition and hydrogen working groups within CMS.

With more than 450 energy and climate change lawyers, including over 100 partners, the CMS Energy and Climate Change practice is one of the largest of its kind in the world. Led from its centres of excellence such as London and Aberdeen, the practice works across 75 offices globally. Building on 40 years of experience advising on power, oil & gas and renewables through to energy disputes, emerging areas and Energy Transition, CMS is uniquely placed to ensure clients receive advice best suited to their commercial needs and to our collective future.

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Relevant experience

  • Offshore Wind: Ecowende (JV between Shell and Eneco) on the project agreements for the development of Holland Kust West (HKW) offshore wind farm project in The Netherlands.
  • Onshore Wind and Solar: Shell on the project agreements for the development of the Pottendijk wind and solar park project in The Netherlands.
  • Oil and Gas: BW Energy on its farm-in and carry agreement (and associated agreements) with NAMCOR in Namibia.
  • Offshore Wind: energy company on project structuring (including FEED and EPC agreements) for an offshore floating wind project in South Korea.
  • Oil and Gas: MODEC on is FPSO operation and maintenance arrangements in Ghana (including the transition of services for the Jubilee Field to Tullow and ongoing services in respect of the TEN fields).
  • Onshore Wind: Shell on the project agreements for the repower of an onshore wind farm in Texas, USA. 
  • Oil and Gas: BW Energy on its project agreements and production sharing agreement in Gabon (including restructuring of the cost recovery mechanism). 
  • LNG: Saudi Aramco on a potential investment into a world-scale multi-train LNG project and associated infrastructure and facilities.
  • Oil and Gas: Eni on the development of its supergiant Zubair field in Iraq, including advising on major project agreements, joint venture arrangements and contractor disputes.
  • Oil and Gas: Eni on its host government agreements (and associated arrangements) in Abu Dhabi, Oman, Bahrain and Sharjah.
  • CCUS: National Grid on the offshore liability regime in UKCS for a proposed carbon capture pilot project in the North Sea.
  • Oil and Gas: Dragon Oil in relation to its interest in the Block 9 field in Iraq (including advising on high value EPC and other operational agreements) as well as its operations in Turkmenistan and Algeria.
  • Oil and Gas: ExxonMobil on the divestment of a number of its North Sea assets including the Dunlin, Merlin and Osprey fields to Fairfield Energy.
  • Schlumberger on its $bn investment and financing with First Exploration and Production in Nigeria.
     
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Memberships & Roles

  • Member, UK Energy Lawyers Group
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Education

  • 2000 - Legal Practice Course, The College of Law, Guildford
  • 1999 - Common Professional Examination, The College of Law, Guildford
  • 1998 - BA (Hons) Modern History, University of Warwick, Warwick 
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Feed

28/01/2022
Oil & Gas – Investing in Nigeria – Reformed Petroleum Law enters into...
With a GDP in 2020 of just over US$450bn, Nigeria is by some stretch the largest economy in Africa (with Egypt in second place with a GBP of just over US$360bn). It is one of the world’s larger oil...
09/03/2021
Oil & Gas: No damages awarded for breach of capacity obligation in take...
In British Gas Trading Limited v Shell UK Limited & Anor [2020] EWCA Civ 2349, the Court of Appeal considered the ‘ramp down’ provisions of two ‘take or pay’ long term gas sales agreements. Although...
10/03/2020
Oil & Gas: Protecting your position in a falling market
With the headlines on the front page of yesterday’s Financial Times predicting an “oil price war” and Brent diving to US$31/bbl at just after 4am UK time on Monday, oil companies and contractors...
06/03/2020
Oil and Gas M&A: No unfair prejudice to reduce sale price
In Albion Energy Ltd v Energy Investments Global BRL [2020] EWHC 301 (Comm) the Commercial Court refused to allow the buyer of a remaining minority equity interest in a company (when the buyer owned 80%...
07/02/2020
Coronavirus and Force Majeure
The World Health Organisation Director General’s recent declaration that the global outbreak of the coronavirus is a “public health emergency of international concern” is, of course, dominating...
28/06/2019
Oil & Gas: IOCs allowed to own 100% of oil and gas drilling activities...
In the latest of a series of moves designed to incentivise and facilitate current and future foreign investment by oil and gas companies, the Government of Bahrain has announced that it will now allow...
22/01/2019
Oil & Gas: Court of Appeal deals with JOA budget overruns and operator...
In Spirit Energy Resources Ltd & Ors v Marathon Oil UK LLC [2019] EWCA Civ 11, the Court of Appeal dealt with an appeal concerning whether an operator, under a joint operating agreement, was entitled...
22/08/2018
Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea: Implications for Oil...
On 12 August 2018, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, being the Caspian littoral states, signed the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea (the “Con­ven­tion”). The Convention...
26/07/2018
Termination Provisions in Drilling Contracts
In Vantage Deepwater Company and Vantage Deepwater Drilling, Inc. (together “Vantage”) v Petrobras America Inc.; Petrobras Venezuela Investments & Services, BV; and Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras...
19/07/2018
Sharjah becomes latest Emirate of the UAE to offer oil and gas licensing...
On 26 June, the Petroleum Council of Sharjah, one of the seven Emirates in the United Arab Emirates, announced its first ever onshore oil and gas licensing round. The government owned oil company, Sharjah...
27/04/2018
Iraq awards blocks in fifth licensing round
Iraq has awarded six oil and gas blocks in its latest licensing round. The results of the auction, announced by the Ministry of Oil on Thursday 26 April, is the fifth held since Iraq opened up its oil...
13/03/2018
Oil & Gas: JOAs, budget overruns and operator pension deficits
In Marathon Oil UK LLC v Centrica Resources Limited, TAQA Bratani Limited and TAQA Bratani LNS Limited [2018] EWHC 322 (Comm), the Commercial Court considered whether an operator was entitled to charge...