Overview | Representative Projects in the Energy Sector 

Overview
Vinson & Elkins has represented the interests of clients doing business in the former Soviet Union since the early 1970s. V&E's Russia/CIS practice group is comprised of American and Russian lawyers who are fluent in both English and Russian.

The members of the Russia/CIS practice group have experience in all types of business transactions in Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and other republics of the former Soviet Union including planning, negotiation, documentation, registration, implementation, and operation. We have negotiated and documented transactions involving production, trading, and other joint venture companies; major construction and services agreements; project financings; and other business transactions in these countries. In addition, we regularly advise clients on various facets of their operations in Russia and elsewhere including matters relating to energy, privatization, commercial and consumer products, telecommunications, real estate, banking, finance, and capital markets.

V&E's Moscow office was established in 1991 and was one of the first offices of multinational law firms to be opened in the former Soviet Union.

Representative Projects in the Energy Sector
Our Russia/CIS practice group has been extensively involved in energy projects. Our lawyers have represented the interests of clients in the following representative matters in the energy sector:

• Represented the main shareholders of the largest Russian independent gas producer in connection with their sale to an affiliate of Gazprom of a 19.4 percent equity stake in the company
  Represented Oman Oil Company in connection with the sale to the Russian Government of a 7 percent shareholding in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, the consortium developing and owning the 1500 km pipeline from the oil fields of western Kazakhstan to the Black Sea
• Represented Occidental Petroleum in connection with the sale to TNK-BP of a 50 percent interest in joint venture company Vanyoganneft for US$485 million. Vanyoganneft holds subsoil licenses to oil and gas condensate deposits in the Western Siberian oil basin and is located in Khanty Mansiisk autonomous district of Russia
• Represented a U.S. private equity group on a proposed significant investment in the Russian oil and gas sector
• Represented a large European alcohol distributors in an intended acquisition of a well-known Russian vodka brand
• Represented a Russian investment company in connection with the sale of three subsidiaries holding oil and gas exploration licenses in the Tyumen region of Russia to Sibir Energy Plc, a company listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange
• Represented one of the largest Russian oil field service companies, on the acquisition of two Russian well workover companies located in the Western Siberia,  including due diligence, participating in structuring of the deal and drafting transaction documents
• Represented Oman Oil Company in connection with its $1.2 billion acquisition of an 8 percent strategic equity interest in MOL Hungarian Oil & Gas, in exchange for a package of international upstream and pipeline assets
• Represented a number of Chinese oil and gas companies (including Sinopec, China ZhenHua Oil and China National Petroleum Company) in connection with acquisitions and potential acquisitions in the oil and gas sector in Russia and Kazakhstan
• Advised a major international oil company on certain issues arising out of its participation in the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan Crude Oil Pipeline project
• Represented a major Russian gas company in connection with the early-stage development of a liquefied natural gas project in Arctic Russia
• Represented a Norwegian start-up in connection with the acquisition of producing oil interests in the Orenburg region of Russia
• Represented a majority shareholder in a large Russian oil and gas producer in the $1 billion plus sale of a block of shares to a Luxembourg securitization company in the transaction arranged and financed by Deutsche Bank AG
• Represented the sellers in a structured sale of a block of shares in a Russian holder of subsoil licenses to “deposits of federal significance”, as characterized by the new amendments to the Russian Subsoil Law
• Represented the sellers of a significant interest in the mid-priced restaurant chain to a private equity fund affiliated with a major Russian industrial and financial group
• Represented the seller in connection with the sale of an interest in the largest independent gas producer in Russia to a multi-lateral financial institution
• Represented a major Texas drilling company in its due diligence and acquisition strategy for the intended acquisition of a Russian drilling company headquartered in the Volga region and for service divisions of the two major Russian integrated companies
• Represented a large state-owned energy company in connection with a proposed acquisition of 100 percent of the shares of a Dutch company, which was the owner of a controlling interest in a Russian company with interests in oil fields in Russia
• Represented a US investor in connection with multi-million acquisition and management of two Russian oil companies holding subsoil licenses and engaged in oil and gas exploration and production activities in the Perm Region and Komi Republic
• Represented a bidder in the potential acquisition of oil company OOO Buguruslanneft, a subsidiary of TNK-BP
• Represented a wholly owned subsidiary of a major petroleum company in connection with the intended acquisition of a blocking interest in East Siberian Oil company (VSNK) structured as an acquisition of two offshore companies which own 100 percent in a holding company which, in its turn, owns minority interest in VSNK. VSNK held the license to one of the major fields located in the East Siberia
• Represented a majority shareholder of a Russian gas company in connection with a proposed sale of a blocking stake to a major French oil and gas company for approximately US$900 million
• Represented a major Nordic energy company in the purchase of large block of shares in the Russian St. Petersburg – based regional electricity generation and distribution company in an $847 million exchange of electricity generation and distribution companies and assets in Germany, Ireland, Norway, Russia and Sweden with a major German energy company
• Representing a Kazakh state-owned oil company on joint venture arrangements with Chinese investors for the rehabilitation of the Uzen oil field in Kazakhstan