Specialized energy and natural resources services

Companies doing business in energy and natural resources sectors are in constant evolution and transformation in their quest for new forms and categories of resources, whilst regulators face difficult and complex decisions meant to both reduce the impact on the environment and to secure the increasing demand of energy without impacting the economic prosperity. All these aspects require qualified advisers with specific knowledge and capabilities, which can be easily found with our firm. Our attorneys have advised all types of players, including producers, distributors, traders, suppliers, brokers, financial investors and investments funds, manufacturers, investment banks, industry associations, regulators and other authorities, on virtually all aspects pertaining to energy and natural resources, having been involved in some of the biggest projects in the field, part of which have been a national and even regional premiere.

Our team’s expertise spans:

• development and operation of power generation projects (conventional and renewable);
• acquisition and sale of projects in the energy and natural resources sectors (including renewable energy);
• regulatory matters regarding transmission, distribution, supply and trading;
• metals and mining, oil and gas (upstream, midstream and downstream);
• sector related commercial and contractual relationships;
• construction, financing, operation, maintenance of projects in the energy and natural resources sectors (including renewable energy);
• disputes resolution in the conventional energy and renewable energy sectors of industries.

We thus advise on a wide range of energy & natural resources related transactions such as joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions and divestures, privatizations, corporate and ownership restructuring and unbundling, project and lease financings. These transactions are further supported by our specialists in areas such as employment, environmental, competition, tax and dispute resolution.

Highlights of the assignments which have been handled by our lawyers throughout their practice include advice and representation to:

• An international investor, with regard to the development of one of the largest wind farms (450 MW);
• A significant European utility provider, with regard to its accession to a major utility transportation project;
• A European private equity fund, in relation to the acquisition of a large private natural gas distributor;
• A large international investor, with regard to the implementation of a large PPP project in the energy sector;
• A major European electricity supply and distribution group, in connection with two high value ICC arbitrations regarding Romanian authorities’ claims arising from alleged infringement of several privatization agreements;
• A large European utility provider, with regard to the acquisition of several supply and distribution utility companies;
• The Romanian natural gas regulator, with regard to the full liberalization and unbundling of the national gas market;
• A large European consultant in the energy and oil and gas sectors, with regard to the legislative amendments aimed at strengthening of the regulatory capacity of the Romanian regulator in the natural gas sector;
• A major international mining group, in relation to the exploration and exploitation of a gold mining project;
• A Russian corporation, in relation to the exploration and exploitation of a gold mining site;
• A large US based oil and gas company, with regard to the privatization of the largest national oil company;
• The Romanian Government, in relation to the revising of the laws on oil and gas.

Team

The senior tier of our energy & natural resources law team comprises on one side our reputed founding partners (who have been involved throughout their combined 38 years of practice in a wide array of projects and matters, having worked for some of the largest corporations doing business in Romania – see section 2) as well as specialized lawyers having gained solid expertise in the field in reputed Romanian and international law firms. As with any other of our areas of practice, the dedicated team includes lawyers specialized both in advisory work and dispute resolution, for an integrated approach meant to cover all relevant angles, and is constantly praised by clients:

“The firm advises on substantial M&A deals in the energy, transport, subsoil and medical sectors, and is noted for its ability to develop ‘very close and efficient working relationships’. With Gelu Maravela, ‘the communication is easy and the results are excellent'”, declared a client quoted by The Legal 500 international directory for legal professionals;

“The ‘highly recommended’ team at this firm ‘possesses a wealth of knowledge’ and provides ‘prompt and to-the-point, valuable advice’. Gelu Titus Maravela and Alina Popescu are the names to note and are praised as ‘great leaders’ who ensure ‘any assignment is smoothly completed in due time with excellent results’. Sectors of expertise include real estate, energy and natural resources as well as pharmaceuticals and healthcare.”, declared another client quoted by The Legal 500;

“[…] everything we have seen […] indicates that the firm is a first-rate law firm with a commitment to the highest professional standards.”, stated a New York based Partner of a leading global law firm;

“I was very impressed with you and your team, and I will certainly be recommending you to my colleagues. I would like to thank all of your for your extremely hard work on this; the client is very happy with the team and how the deal was handled […] my thanks to everyone for a job most excellently done. […] I look forward to working with you all again very soon.”, added a Partner of a reputed UK based law firm.

• Gelu Titus Maravela

Publications

• Contracts for Difference Mechanism, Renewable energy tender in Romania, Information note for bidders, August 2023 (ENG)
• Government Decision approving the general legal framework for the implementation and functioning of the Contracts for Difference support mechanism for low carbon technologies, August 2023 (ENG)
• Finally, Romania is getting there! The contracts for difference, another step in the decarbonation process, August 2023 (ENG)
• The Back-and-Forth Impacting Renewables, March 2023 (ENG)
• EU level updates regarding energy regulation, October 2022 (ENG)
• Updates to Energy Law, January 2022 (ENG)
• Energy sector updates, December 2021 (ENG)
• Issuance of set-up permits for power generation capacities, November 2021 (ENG)
• Green light for developers of green power generation capacities, June 2021 (ENG)
• Romania: updates of the mining law, January 2021 (ENG)
• Romania: new licensing rules for activities in the energy field, December 2020 (ENG)
• New disputes resolution rules in the energy sector, December 2020 (ENG)
• Sale of energetic capacities to concessionaire distribution operators, November 2020 (ENG)
• New rules for connection to power grids, October 2020 (ENG)
• Amendments to the regime of PPAs, July 2020 (ENG)
• Bilaterally negotiated Power Purchase Agreements, May 2020 (ENG)
• ELKB New State aid schemes in Romania for renewable energy projects (ENG)

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