Josh McFadzen

Full Profile

Josh focusses his practice on non-contentious oil and gas project development and transactional matters and their related infrastructure. He has an established practice history of acting for sovereign energy clients. Josh provides leading representation for some of the world’s largest national oil companies, particularly in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States to bring their host country petroleum resources to market. He has been recognised by the major legal directories including Chambers and Legal 500 in the Middle East Region, a jurisdiction where his clients benefit from his in-depth understanding of the novel ways of doing business for national and international oil companies which are unique to the region. Josh represents the interests of the industry in established, emerging and frontier markets as well as complex legal environments in both civil and common law jurisdictions.

Josh provides counsel to virtually all types of sector participants in international markets across the entire value chain - the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors. Within the sector, he is known in the Middle East market for particular strength in upstream oil and gas. He is instructed on both the operator and contractor side and his clients include NOCs, supermajors, international oil companies (IOCs), exploration and production companies, independents, oilfield services companies, natural gas and liquids pipeline companies, LNG project sponsors and developers, petrochemical companies and drilling contractors/joint ventures.  

Josh specialises in the operational contracting arrangements of the oil and gas industry - the highly complex agreements which are essential for all upstream activities to explore for, develop and produce hydrocarbons and the engineering, procurement and construction of all assets and infrastructure required to transport, process and refine petroleum products. Josh has specific expertise in the extractive processes needed to take hydrocarbons from source to market, from the initial grant of the petroleum licence to the inception of activities in upstream acreage, including drilling rigs, oilfield equipment and supply chains and drilling, construction, production and operation of oil and gas wells, onshore and offshore. He is instructed by his clients because of his deep knowledge of the highly technical operations involved in the day-to-day running of national and international oil and gas companies. This expertise is informed by unique real-world experience of operations on a live producing oilfield from his time as a senior counsel with an affiliate of the China National Petroleum Company where he was based on site at the Halfaya Oilfield in south-eastern Iraq. 

Josh began his career on the business side of the oil and gas industry and as a result is able to serve clients with a heightened understanding of their commercial and operational needs. He has served in senior strategic roles for super-major oil and natural gas operators in leading OPEC countries, including the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (“ADNOC”), where he led transformational change in the drilling and oilfield services sectors as Vice President, Legal Operations, Commercial & Technology. 

He advises on industry matters domestically in the United Arab Emirates and is regularly retained to advise on cross-border matters by virtue of his particular depth of market experience in oil and gas matters in the wider Middle East Region. He has experience representing the interests of the industry in established, emerging and frontier markets as well as complex legal environments in both civil and common law jurisdictions. Josh is admitted to practice in Australia.

Experience

• Advising a Malaysian sovereign oil and gas company in respect of the market specific risk and liability practices for contracting its integrated drilling operations in an unconventional oil concession in Abu Dhabi. The client is the operator of the first concession in the Middle East Region for unconventional oil resources, a petroleum licence which is of state significance to the Government of the United Arab Emirates to develop Abu Dhabi’s unconventional hydrocarbon reserves.*
• Advising a Middle East national oil company client on the structuring, drafting, negotiation and post award implementation of the largest of their kind in the industry long-term strategic framework agreements with a cumulative award value exceeding USD 25 billion in respect of all equipment, drilling and oilfield services required to drill, test, complete and produce onshore and offshore oil and gas wells for the NOC operator’s upstream affiliated companies.*
• Advising a French supermajor IOC in its role as consortium operator on the landmark USD 27 billion Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP) in southern Iraq.*
• Advising a state-owned oil and gas company in Qatar in its role as the joint venture operator on behalf of QatarEnergy and TotalEnergies, developing the offshore Al Shaheen Oil Field, Qatar’s and one of the world’s largest and most complex oil fields on the design, drafting and implementation of the entire upstream contract ecosystem.*
• Drafting a bespoke framework agreement for the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning of offshore wellhead platforms. Appointed by a Middle East sovereign energy client to draft bespoke terms and conditions for the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation and Commissioning of thirty-six offshore wellhead platforms (the EPCIC Framework Agreement).*
• Advising a Qatari sovereign oil company operator on a USD 200 million cross-border dispute concerning the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning of an operational critical asset, an offshore central processing facility, being constructed in shipyards in Geoje, South Korea. Joined subject matter specialist Kings Counsel in London advising the client on a pre-litigation claim on the basis of hardship under the laws of Qatar, investigating solutions to avoid securities being attached to the asset to ensure sail away within the designated weather window, the validity and enforceability of arbitration agreements in South Korea and pre-emptive injunctive relief options which could be filed in domestic courts in South Korea.*
• Advising an independent upstream oil and gas exploration and production company operating one of the largest concession areas in Oman in respect of the design, build, own, operate and maintain agreement for gas power plants.*
• Advising a Qatari state-owned oil company operator in respect of the highly complex offshore engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning of multiple contract packages in respect of central processing platforms, topside decks and jackets, bridges, flare topsides, tripods, living quarters, and wellhead platforms to support delivery of the Ruya Project, one of two major expansion projects to develop the giant Al Shaheen Oil Field in the Persian Gulf with an award value of USD 6 billion.*
• Advising a UK headquartered engineering and energy services group on the cross-border majority share acquisition of a U.A.E. oilfield services company target with corporate headquarters in Singapore.*

*Experience gained prior to joining Clyde & Co