Oil, Gas and Other Resources

As a natural resource-scarce country, it has been a pillar of our government’s policy to secure sufficient natural resources to meet the needs of our lives and economic activities. Against this background, we have been supporting Japanese companies for many years in establishing and expanding their business in the oil and gas and mining sectors. Our services extend to all project phases and include researching local laws and regulations, conducting and assisting with due diligence, analyzing associated risks, advising on and negotiating contracts, and representing clients in disputes. Given that Japan is the world’s largest importer of LNG, we also regularly advise Japanese utilities on long-term LNG sale and purchase agreements.

In the areas of exploration and production, we support our clients in acquiring exploration and production rights (e.g., concession, production sharing, and other rights). This support ranges from organizing consortiums with Japanese and international developers to analyzing, advising on and resolving investment related-risks.

We have a wealth of experience in advising Japanese companies on projects involving refinery plants, petrochemical plants, nuclear plants, gas liquefaction and regasification facilities and gas pipelines. In some projects, we represent Japanese companies as sponsors, and in others, we represent Japanese contractors as EPC contractors. We are one of a few firms in Japan experienced in handling projects on both the sponsor and contractor sides as well as the financier side.

We also support Japanese financial institutions that fund natural resources projects. In particular, we have a long-standing history of representing Japanese state-owned development banks and export credit agencies whose missions include supporting Japanese companies in securing oil, gas and natural resources for our country. These institutions support Japanese developers in acquiring natural resource exploration and production rights through various financial products such as project finance, export credit and trade insurance. We are a highly experienced firm in this field, and the projects in which we have been involved span the globe, including Asia, Oceania and North and South American countries.

Finally, we maintain a best friends network of top-tier firms in each jurisdiction. As local firms with sector expertise play a key role in achieving success, we closely collaborate with the best local firms that are highly recognized in the sector. Through this close collaboration, we provide compressive, high-quality support to our Japanese clients on many projects.