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International Construction

AOL - International Construction Disputes

Vinson & Elkins’ market-leading and award winning construction team has a long history of involvement in some of the largest and most complex multi-billion dollar international construction and infrastructure projects. Unlike many of our peer firms, we have a dedicated construction & engineering team comprising lawyers who focus their practice on construction and engineering matters. Our team’s position at the pinnacle of the market is demonstrated by our recognition in global legal directories, including our ranking in the top tier of both Chambers UK (Construction: International Arbitration, 2025) and Legal 500 UK (Construction: Contentious, 2025), and by the recent awards we have won.

Clients turn to our team for support across the full lifecycle of some the world’s highest value and most complex infrastructure projects. Our front-end construction and projects lawyers work hand in hand with our internationally renowned construction disputes team in order to offer clients seamless and top-tier support from cradle to grave.

Global reach

Our experience is truly global in nature and is not focused on any one region. We regularly act on projects in various jurisdictions and across geographies as diverse as the Americas, the UK, the Middle East and East Asia. Our dispute lawyers regularly handle matters in a number of courts and arbitral venues (as well as in adjudications, dispute adjudication boards, and expert determinations) seated everywhere from Helsinki to Miami, regardless of governing law and forum.

Industry Coverage

We routinely represent governments, large corporations, and parties active in the construction sector, including contractors, subcontractors, project owners, developers, architects, engineers, and vendors across industry sectors. Our sector experience includes industries as varied as transportation and related infrastructure, processing and manufacturing plants, data centers and iconic urban redevelopment projects. Our storied history of leadership in the energy sector carries through to our construction work, with the team regularly advising clients on construction projects across the energy value chain – from pipelines, LNG and petrochemical facilities right through to a wide array of renewable energy projects– including particularly notable experience of offshore wind projects. Whatever the sector of a specific project, our construction team is there to assist.

Scope of Services

We advise on the construction aspects of the whole life cycle of major projects, from procurement strategy, tender processes, and contract drafting and negotiation to roles as project counsel when design and construction works are being implemented. At the outset of projects, our disputes lawyers routinely advise clients on litigation risk, strategy, and avoidance. When disputes become unavoidable, our lawyers have a truly outstanding track record of success, whether in arbitration, litigation, before DABs and DRBs or in mediation and conciliation, and other forms of ADR. V&E lawyers have been involved in defending and pursuing claims for breach of contract, breach of warranty, design and construction defects, errors in FEED, negligence, and a vast array of typical construction disputes, such as claims for additional costs, variations and changes, delay and disruption (including cumulative impact claims), and liquidated damages, under both common law and civil law systems.

Experience Highlights

  • Acting on a number of ICC arbitrations in connection with the design and construction of a major maritime project in Central America

  • Conduct of ICC arbitral proceedings on behalf of an EPCM contractor arising out of a Middle Eastern world-class petrochemical complex, including issues relating to non-payment of invoices, delays, and the quality of engineering, procurement, and construction management services

  • Eurochem in the construction, development and $1 billion financing of 2,700 metric-tons-per-day Baltic ammonia plant located in Kingisepp, Russia 

  • Representing a specialist contractor in ICC arbitration proceedings concerning termination and costs claims for a major development project in Saudi Arabia

  • Gulf Coast Ammonia as project counsel in the development and financing of a world-scale ammonia project in Texas 

  • Conduct of ICC arbitration (Geneva Seat) on behalf of a JV arising out of a Middle Eastern petrochemical project; the dispute of value is at $250 million+ and covers a wide range of delay and disruption claims, together with over 400 smaller value additional cost claims and back charges

  • Conduct of arbitration proceedings (administered by the Arbitration Institute of the Finland Chamber of Commerce) regarding disputes between the main contractor and a subcontractor arising out of the construction of a data centre

  • Represented an international developer of power and water projects in complex and high-value ICC international arbitration proceedings concerning a Central American hydro electric power project

  • Advising an international contractor in relation to issues arising out the construction of an offshore wind farm

  • Advising the contractor consortium on an LNG receiving, storage and regasification terminal in Europe

  • Advising the main contractor to the redevelopment of a North Sea oil & gas project involving an FPSO with regard to issues arising both up and down the contractual chain, with particular emphasis on almost two years of COVID and hardline lockdown related delays arising out of fabrication in China

  • Advising main contractor on various disputes with subcontractors at various stages of maturity from pre-action to arbitration (administered by Netherlands Institute)

  • Conduct of English High Court proceedings, including successfully obtaining orders for injunctive relief against environmental activists

  • Represented an EPC contractor in an ICC arbitration, seated in Singapore, arising out of a construction project for a coal mining conveyer system in Indonesia; the arbitration primarily concerned changed site conditions in the project area caused by an affiliate of the owner, which prevented project completion; the case settled favorably

  • Representing an international EPC contractor and specialist waste-to-energy plant provider in major disputes concerning the design of a waste-to-energy plant in the UK

  • Representing a major Turkish conglomerate in ICC arbitration proceedings arising out of the disputed termination of one of the EPC contracts relating to the Marmaray Project in Istanbul (FIDIC Silver Book based)

  • Texas Central Partners as project counsel in the development of a high speed rail project between Houston and Dallas

  • STAR Rafineri A.Ş. a subsidiary of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and its sponsors on the development and financing of a $6.3 billion greenfield oil refinery in Turkey on the Aegean Sea. This is the largest project financing in Turkey and involves the largest and most diverse group of ECAs for any multi-source financing in Turkey to date. The STAR project sets new benchmarks for project financings in Turkey in terms of amount and tenor of facilities. The Project won 10 awards including Infrastructure Journal’s “European Oil and Gas Deal of the Year 2014”

  • Noble Energy, Inc. as project counsel in the development of the Leviathan natural gas field in offshore Israel, including the development, construction and financing of a 2.1 Bcf/d natural gas production platform and associated subsea and tie-back facilities

  • BG Group in the development of a multitrain, multibillion dollar LNG project in Lake Charles, Louisiana, including involvement in the feedstock, off-take, and other project-related agreements

  • A joint venture among Korean Gas Corp (KOGAS), Lotte Chemical, STX Energy and Uzbekneftegas, on the development and the Asian Development Bank, KEXIM and KSure led financing of the approximately $3.9 billion Surgil upstream gas and petrochemicals project, Project Finance International’s “Petrochemical Deal of the Year 2012”, Infrastructure Journal’s “Oil and Gas Deal of the Year 2013”, The American Lawyer’s “Global Finance Deal of the Year: Project Finance (Asia) 2014” and the largest project financing in Central Asia

  • ChevronPhillips Chemical Company LLC on the development and financing of more than $1 billion petrochemical derivatives facilities in Saudi Arabia, including work on the related EPC contracts

  • Emirates Aluminium Company in connection with its construction, procurement, and technology arrangements for its 1.3 million tonnes per year aluminium smelter at Taweelah in Abu Dhabi, UAE, with a transaction value of approximately $6.4 billion

  • Dyno Nobel Inc. in the development of an $850 million anhydrous ammonia plant in Louisiana, including project development arrangements, real estate and environmental matters, and negotiation of CO2 and ammonia offtake agreements

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