Full Profile
Bryan focusses his practice on non-contentious oil and gas project development and transactional matters and their related infrastructure.
Bryan specialises in delivering all operational contracting arrangements required for the construction, installation, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of the required assets and infrastructure needed to take hydrocarbons from the upstream environment, through pipelines and transportation in the midstream to downstream terminals, refineries and processing the hydrocarbon into an end product suitable for domestic and international export markets.
Bryan advises integrated energy and petrochemical companies across the full life cycle of projects worldwide, from planning to constructing, developing and operating, through to refinancing, sale and decommissioning. Bryan provides expert advice on multi-billion dollar, complex construction and engineering projects, from pre-tender contract package preparation, through tender negotiation and evaluation to post award implementation, in respect of both the headline contractor and subcontract packages. Bryan is instructed on the operator and contractor side. He is frequently retained by some of the world’s largest state-owned oil and gas companies in the Middle East Region.
Bryan advises on all industry model forms of commercial contracting arrangements for front end engineering and design, EPCIC, PMC, project licensing, design, build, operate and maintain agreements (DBOM), topside and subsea construction, installations, hook up and commissioning services, shipyard constructions for new builds and ports, terminals and quayside construction projects. From subsurface/subsea pipeline installations, offshore jackets, topsides, wellhead towers and platforms, through to processing facilities, production facilities and refinery plant and facilities, he has successfully delivered several “firsts” and “largest of their kind” in the industry oil and gas infrastructure projects, particularly in the Middle East Region, including multi-billion dollar projects of national and strategic significance to clients.
Bryan began his career on the business side of the oil and gas industry working on offshore platforms in the mature oil and gas basin, the UK North Sea. Bryan has over 30 years of experience advising participants in the oil and gas industry, advising supermajor TotalEnergies in the role of United Kingdom General Counsel and leading international oil company Maersk Oil, in an in-house counsel capacity. His subject matter expertise is informed by a truly international career dedicated to the sector, having advised energy clients from residential assignments in the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Singapore, the United States, Denmark and Norway.
With this background, he advises clients with a heightened understanding of their most complex legal, commercial and technical needs. Bryan is frequently instructed by major operators and contractors in the Middle East Region to provide opinion and advice on construction, engineering and capital projects in the pre-contentious stage where his oil and gas clients become involved in a dispute concerning the front-end transaction. Bryan is adept at proposing novel solutions to clients to resolve disputes between operators and contractors which are unfortunately inevitable in the oil and gas sector, principally in relation to time delay to project delivery, cost overruns and variations.
Bryan is admitted to practise under Scots Law and England and Wales.
Experience
- Advised a UAE client on the world's largest offshore sour gas development project. Advised client on the highly complex, onshore and offshore USD 17 billion engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for a sour gas development project. The EPC Contracts were among the highest value contract awards of their kind in the Middle East Region and globally, in any sector, in 2023. The project was of strategic importance to the state. Negotiations included:
- engineering, procurement and construction agreements (EPC) for onshore and offshore packages with an award value of USD 17 billion;
- technology licensing agreements;
- technology tripartite agreements:
- technology amendment and restatement agreements; and
- pre-construction services agreements (PCSA's) for onshore and offshore packages.*
- Legal adviser to the Malaysian sovereign oil and gas company in respect of its historic unconventional oil concession in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The state-owned national oil and gas company is the operator of the first concession in the Middle East Region for unconventional oil resources, a petroleum block which is of state significance to the Government of the U.A.E in developing Abu Dhabi's unconventional resources. Engaged to draft a bespoke Design, Build, Operate and Maintain Agreement for the development of onshore petroleum production and transportation facilities.*
- Drafting a bespoke framework agreement for the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation and Commissioning of thirty-six offshore wellhead platforms. Appointed by a UAE 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). The EPCIC Framework is operationally critical due to being a "P5" capital infrastructure project. Appointed to negotiate with: (i) Lamprell Energy; (ii) McDermott; (iii) National Petroleum Ccnstruction Company; (iv) Petrofac Emirates: (v) Rosetti; and (vi) Saipem.*
- Advising on a pre-litigation USD 200 million dispute and claim. Instructed to advise on the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation and Commissiong Contract for a Central Processing Platform (and ancillary facilities) being constructed in Geoje, South Korea, by one of the largest shipyards in the world. Contractor submitted a USD 200 million claim for costs variation on the basis of hardship under the laws of Qatar.*
- Advised on USD 328 million dispute involving causation for delay in the work time schedule for major offshore oil and gas construction works. A Qatar client was the joint venture operator developing Qatar's offshore Al-Shaheen Oil Field, one of the largest in the world. Was appointed to advise on significant time delay and high value cost variation claims pursuant to the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation and Commissioning Contract (EPCIC Contract) for piled supporting structure jacket and produced water management modules for offshore topside facilities.*
- Advised a UAE operator by drafting and negotiating FEED, Licence and EPC contracts for the a major ethane cracker project within Abu Dhabi. Each of the bidders was required to provide a bespoke design based on their own systems and processes via a FEED competition with the successful contractor winning the full EPC.*
- Advised the Danish Underground Consortium on the redevelopment of the Tyra Field in Denmark. The Tyra Field produces 97% of Denmark's gas capacity and is an essential part of the country's energy supply. Maintaining the ageing and subsiding infrastructure had become untenable and the removal and renewal of all jackets and topsides was required. This required extensive drafting and negotiation of multiple FEED, EPCI, EPCT and ancillary contracts.*
- Advised on the development of the Johan Sverdrup Project in Norway. Negotiated several EPC agreements for the following construction campaigns for this project in Singapore, China, Holland and the United Kingdom:
- Wellhead platform;
- Processing platform;
- Accommodation platform;
- Power generation platform;
- Jackets;
- Bridges;
- Pipeline to shore;
- Onshore electrical power plant;
- Cable lay to platform offshore:
- Transportation and heavy lift vessels; and
- Full subsea tie-back campaign.*
- Advised Maersk Oil Qatar by drafting and negotiating the contracts for the Al Shaheen subsea pipeline project in the Arabian Gulf. Qatar has seen exponential growth in its LNG business and the development of its offshore fields. As part of that growth model, a new pipeline was installed from the Al Shaheen field to shore based facilities.*
- Advised a UAE client’s legal and project teams by drafting an appropriate design, build and operate agreement. The Biogenics and Al Yasat projects in Abu Dhabi were designed to be fast to market developments, unhindered by the usual project development constraints. The premise was for each project to identify a single contractor who would design, build and operate the facilities from concept through to decommissioning.*
- Advised a UAE client by drafting and negotiating a Construction and Tie-In Agreement for the Al Dhafra pipeline project. The Al Dhafra project had relied historically on the inter-affiliate relationship it had with the pipeline owners for its tie-in arrangements. Recent developments in Abu Dhabi have seen external investors purchasing large shares in infrastructure and fields and a requirement for risk to be apportioned proportionately via the Construction and Tie-in Agreement.*
- Advised Maersk Oil by drafting and negotiating the lump sum FEED, EPCI, EPCT, hook up and commissioning and ancillary contracts for the Culzean development project in the UKCS. The Culzean Field provides 10% of UK gas capacity at peak production. Negotiated separate EPC agreements for the following construction campaigns for this project in the USA, Singapore, Holland and the UK:
- Wellhead Platform;
- Processing Platform;
- Accommodation Platform;
- Jackets;
- Bridges;
- Pipeline;
- Floating, Storage and Offloading Vessel;
- Transportation and Heavy Lift Vessels; and
- Full Subsea tie-back campaign.*
- Drafted and negotiated a FEED and EPC contract for the design and build of a floating, storage and offloading vessel for the UKCS in Houston, Texas. A large HPHT gas field development within the UKCS had an ancillary requirement to ship approximately 150,000 boepd. Due to the chemical makeup of the oil it could not be pumped via pipeline to shore facilities. A bespoke 500.000 boe floating, storage and offloading vessel was designed and built to suit the project's requirements.*
- Drafted and negotiated the terms for a new build jack-up rig for use in the UKCS in Singapore. A large-scale HPHT gas field within the UKCS had a five year multi-well drilling programme and a requirement for bespoke equipment to deal with HPHT wells. A complex contract was drafted to ensure a high value rig was designed and built to the client's specification.*
- Drafted and negotiated a FEED and decommissioning contract for a Floating Production and Support Unit in the UKCS. The Janice Field had become uneconomic and there was a requirement to remove and recycle the Janice FPSU from the field. Bespoke decommissioning agreements were drafted and negotiated and 96% of the Janice FPSU was subsequently recycled in Norway.*
- Advised Maersk Oil by Drafting and negotiating contracts for the refurbishment of the Gryphon FPSO and the redevelopment of the Gryphon field subsea infrastructure. Following an incident in the UKCS involving the Gryphon FPSO, a major reconstruction project was undertaken to redevelop the Gryphon Field and reinstate the Gryphon FPSO and associated infrastructure. This was the largest subsea campaign in the UKCS at that time.*
- Negotiated separate EPC agreements for the Golden Eagle Project, involving the following construction campaigns in Singapore, UAE, Holland and the UK:
- Wellhead Platform;
- Processing, Utilities and Accommodation Platform; and
- two Jackets.*
*Experience gained prior to joining Clyde & Co
