Dewey & LeBoeuf

Nabil L. Khodadad

Partner

Nabil co-heads the Firm's Project Finance and Infrastructure practice. He has been based in London for more than two decades and has extensive experience in project finance and privatizations. He has advised on oil and gas, pipeline, petrochemical, mining and metals, power and other projects in more than 35 countries. Nabil has also served on the Documentation Committee of the London Market Association (LMA).

Nabil has been ranked as a leading project finance lawyer by Chambers and Partners in the 2007 to 2012 Chambers UK Guides.

Recent Representative Transactions

1. Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals

Currently advising Uz-Kor Gas Chemical, LLC, a joint venture among Korean Gas Corp (KOGAS), Honam Petrochemical Corp, STX Energy and Uzbekneftegas, on the development and the Asian Development Bank, KEXIM and KSure led financing of the approximately $4 billion Surgil upstream gas and petrochemicals project;
Currently advising SOCAR Turcas Rafineri AS on the development and financing of an approximately $5 billion greenfield oil refinery in Turkey on the Aegean Sea. This will be the largest project financing in Turkey;
Currently advising Statoil in connection with the development and financing of the approximately $20 billion Phase 1 of the Shtokman gas, condensate and LNG project with Gazprom and Total;
Currently advising Indorama and Uzbekneftegaz on the construction and financing of the approximately $2.5 billion Mubarek petrochemicals project in Uzbekistan;
Advised SOCAR Turcas Petrokimya AS on a $1 billion loan facility arranged by Credit Suisse to refinance an existing acquisition loan facility and to finance the final instalment of the purchase price for Petkim Petrokimya Holding AS;
Advised Azerbaijan (ACG) Ltd, a subsidiary of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), on a $750 million loan facility arranged by BNP Paribas to finance its share of investment in the Azeri, Chirag and deepwater Gunashli offshore oil and condensate fields, Project Finance magazine's "European Oil and Gas Deal of the Year" for 2006;
Advised the EBRD on the $350 million financing of LUKoil's and the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic's investments in the Shah Deniz Gas Field and the South Caucasus Gas Pipeline;
Advised SOCAR on separate $480.5 million and $300 million syndicated financings arranged by ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas and Société Générale backed by oil receivables;
Advised Preem Petroleum AB in connection with an approximately $3.5 billion syndicated financing arranged by Skandinaviska Enskil Banken AB and Svenska Handelsbanken AB with respect to its refineries in Sweden;
SOCAR on a $100 million financing arranged by Calyon Bank and Société Générale backed by condensate and gas receivables with respect to its interest in the Shah Deniz field and the South Caucasus Pipeline;
Advised HoodOil Ltd on the proposed development and financing of a greenfield refinery at Ras Issa in Yemen;
Advised IFC in connection with its financing for the revamping, modernization and start-up of S.C. Petrotel-Lukoil's refinery in Romania;
Advised SOCAR on a $610 million syndicated loan facility arranged by ABN AMRO and Citibank;
Advised IFC and the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank on financing extended to Melrose Resources for the development of the Galata gas field located offshore Varna, Bulgaria in the Black Sea;
Advised HoodOil Ltd with respect to various issues relating to its interests in Blocks 9, 34 and 37 in Yemen; and
Advised Nations Energy Company Ltd. on a $200 million secured pre-export loan facility arranged by CSFB International with respect to production from the Karazhanbas oil field in Kazakhstan.

2. Mining & Metals

Currently advising European Goldfields, a TSX and AIM listed company, on a $600m loan facility to be provided by Qatar Holding LLC, the investment arm of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, and a $150 million loan note facility to finance the development of the Skouries and Olympias gold projects in Greece;
Currently advising a large international mining company in connection with the development and financing a multi-billion dollar integrated iron ore and rail project in west Africa;
Advised EBRD in connection with an equity investment in GV Gold, a Russian mining company;
Advised Newmont Mining Corporation on the IFC-led financing of the Ahafo gold mining project in Ghana, the IFC's first major mining project after its Extractive Industries Review;
Advised the Al Ghurair Group in connection with the sale of a key stake in Al Ghurair Iron & Steel, the first steel cold rolling & galvanizing complex in the UAE, to Nippon Steel Corporation, Japan’s largest steel maker;
Currently advising a gold exploration company in connection with a gold exploration joint venture in the Middle East;
Advised Billiton on its acquisition, together with Glencore and Anglo American, of Cerrejon Zona Norte, a Colombian company with an interest in the Cerrejon Norte Coal Deposit, for $476 million;
Advised Billiton on its acquisition of an equity stake in Carbones del Cerrejon, a Colombian company with rights to the Cerrejon Central and Oreganal Coal Deposits;
Advised Zarafshan-Newmont, a joint venture between the State Committee on Geology and Mineral Resources, Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinat and Newmont Mining Corporation, on the EBRD-led financing of its project to heap leach gold bearing ore stock-piled near the Muruntau Mine in Uzbekistan and subsequent refinancings of such project. This was a Project Finance International "Deal of the Year";
Advised NM Rothschild on the project financing of the Bullfrog Gold Mine in Nevada and the Castle Mountain Gold Mine in California;
Advised Newmont and its subsidiary Minera Yanacocha S.R.L. in connection with a $200 million bond issuance and a $100 syndicated loan facility led by Banco de Credito del Peru;
Advised Vale (formerly known as CVRD) on the Vostok copper project in Kazakhstan; and
Advised RBS as arranger of a proposed US$170 million senior secured limited recourse financing in respect of the underground expansion of a gold mine.

3. Power

Advised Eskom on a $3.75 billion World Bank loan to finance the construction of the Medupi coal-fired power plant and an associated transmission line, a wind power plant and a solar power plant;
Advised Nurol Enerji (Turkey) on its proposed development and financing of the approximately $1 billion Namakhvani hydroelectric project in Georgia;
Currently advising Hood Power in connection with a power project in Yemen;
Advised CDC Globeleq on the gas supply arrangements in connection with its acquisition of AES's interest in the Songo Songo gas to electricity project in Tanzania;
Advised IFC in connection with the financing of the Pamir I hydroelectric electric power generation and distribution project in the Gorno-Badakhshan region of Tajikistan.
Advised WestPac, as sole arranger of project financing for the Carland Cross Wind Farm, the first limited recourse financing of a wind farm in the UK; and
Advised Barclays Bank, as sole arranger of project financing for the Coal Clough Wind Farm in the UK.

4. Other

Advised Capmark Financial on the sale of a portfolio of real estate loans to GE for approximately $1.8 billion;
Advised Jazztel plc, a competitive local exchange carrier, on a €200 million syndicated revolving credit and performance bond facility which was arranged by JP Morgan plc to finance the build-out of its network in Spain;
Advised Alghanim Industries of Kuwait in connection with a loan facility arranged by HSBC to finance their acquisition of Izocam from the Koc Group;
Advised Société Générale as arranger of financing for the acquisition of two Boeing 767s; and
Advised a US financial institution on a $200 million structured Eurobond financing.

Selected Activities

Member, Documentation Committee of the London Market Association (LMA).
Speaker: During the last five years, Nabil has given presentations on the financing of oil and gas, pipeline and mining and metals projects at ten conferences.

Publications

Author, "Recent Trends in the Financing of Oil and Gas and Mining Projects", which was published by the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation's manual of the Special Institute on International Mining and Oil and Gas, Development and Investment (April 20-22, 2009, Buenos Aires).
Co-author, “Mongolian Mining” (with Matthew Hinxman), Project Finance International (September 5, 2007).
Co-author, "The Project Financing of the Ahafo Gold Project, Ghana" (with Tom Mahoney, Vice President and Treasurer of Newmont Mining Corporation), Financing Global Mining: The Complete Picture, a report published by Project Finance International and Thomsons (March 2007).
Co-author, "From Russia with Love" (with Rubin Weston), World Pipelines Magazine (March 2007).
Author, "Russian Oil Companies Dominate Latest Libyan Tender," Project Finance Newswire, (March 2007).
Co-author, "Crossing Borders" (with Rubin Weston), World Pipelines Magazine (August 2006).
Author, "Asian and European Oil Companies Outbid US in Libyan Tender," Project Finance Newswire (October 2005).
Author, "Current Issues in Mining Projects," Project Finance Newswire (June 2005).
Author, "Libya Launches Second Exploration Tender," Project Finance Newswire (June 2005).
Co-author, "The Project Financing of Cross-Border Pipelines" (with Rubin Weston), Project Finance Newswire, April 2005 and International Securitization and Finance Report (April 15 and 30, 2005).
Author, "Libya Unveils Terms for Foreign Investors," International Energy Law and Taxation Review (February 2005).