May 16, 2018
Paris office advises on the 750-kilometer gas pipeline to export natural gas from the Calub and Hilala fields in the Ogaden Region of Ethiopia to the Djiboutian coast.
The Paris office is representing the Government of the Republic of Djibouti in connection with the 750-kilometer gas pipeline project to export natural gas from the Calub and Hilala fields in the Ogaden Region of Ethiopia to the Djiboutian coast.
The host government agreement for the Djiboutian section of the gas pipeline was signed on Sunday May 13, 2018 by the Djiboutian Government, represented by the Minister of Energy in charge of Natural Resources, and by a subsidiary of POLY-GCL Petroleum Group Holdings Limited, which is a party to five Production Sharing Agreements with the Government of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia. The agreement grants all of the rights required for the construction and operation of the pipeline. Willkie is also advising the Djiboutian Government on the negotiation of an inter-governmental agreement with the Federal Republic of Ethiopia, which will be signed shortly in connection with this project.
The agreements mark a significant milestone for the overall project, which, in Djibouti, will also involve the construction of a near-shore liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction facility in territorial waters, to be constructed pursuant to a separate agreement under negotiation with the Government and expected to be entered into later this year. Willkie is also advising the Government on this agreement.
It is anticipated that the first shipments of LNG will occur in 2022 and that the total cost of the project will be around $3 billion, of which around $1.3 billion will be spent on the construction of the pipeline and another $1.7 billion on the construction of the LNG facility.
The Willkie team was led by partner Amir Jahanguiri in Paris and included associate Matteo Matteucci in London and Paris associates Cédric Gamambaye Dionmou and Jesse Gero.
