Paul Wentworth

|Partner

A specialist corporate and commercial advisor for infrastructure projects, Paul has also developed a strong practice in climate change. His clients include mining companies, property development and management companies, energy generation and retail companies, solar panel installers, and solar and thermal project developers. Paul’s expertise includes carbon cost pass-through provisions in contracts, and reporting obligations. Paul has also advised clients on the Mandatory Renewable Target Scheme, the New South Wales Greenhouse Gas Scheme and the Queensland 13% Gas Scheme as well as sale agreements for RECs, GECs and NSW GGS certificates and green power rights.

Paul has extensive experience in a broad range of commercial contracts across the energy and communications sectors. His expertise includes operation and maintenance agreements; service agreements; joint venture agreements; sale and purchase agreements; gas connection, transportation and reference service agreements; producer, wholesale and retail gas supply agreements; electricity supply agreements; offtake agreements; use of system and connection agreements; agreements for sale of steam and water; as well as contracts for sale of coal, uranium and other minerals. Paul also deals widely in access agreements for broadcasting, rail and other infrastructure as well as rail and road coal haulage contacts. Paul has specialist expertise in tailoring contracts and drafting bespoke contracts to accommodate unique circumstances.

Paul has extensive expertise in diverse commercial transactions across the electricity sector. He advises on due diligence, joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions for built and greenfields projects including gas-fired power stations, wind farms and solar thermal projects. In addition to electricity regulation matters, Paul advises both supply and demand-side clients on supply agreements, off-take agreements, use of system and connection agreements, and electricity market issues. Paul’s has wide dealings with all major industry participants including retailers, independent power producers and large industrial and commercial customers.

Paul has extensive experience in energy sector transactions advising on mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, and joint ventures as well as regulatory matters and diverse contractual arrangements. He has advised on the acquisition of built projects and the development of greenfields projects spanning gas pipelines, coal-fired power stations, gas-fired generation projects, wind farm and solar thermal projects. Paul also has a thorough understanding of national and state regulatory regimes for gas, electricity and energy retail, particularly in NSW. He provides wide advice on commercial contracts for both supply and demand-side clients including gas supply and transportation agreements, pipeline interconnection agreements, electricity connection contracts, power purchase agreements and retail supply agreements.

Paul has significant dealings with commercial aspects of Government infrastructure projects across the transport, energy and communications sectors. Acting for Broadcast Australia, he advised on the rollout and provision of Australia’s national analogue and digital broadcasting transmission service. He also acted for Sydney Metropolitan Airports on their sale by the Commonwealth.

Paul also has had extensive dealings with public sector rail authorities, particularly in NSW. He acted for the NSW Government on complex statutory asset vestings in the lease of the key railway infrastructure and was a member of the ARTC Project team responsible for the sale of plant and equipment, due diligence, and the bulk terminal agreement with Pacific National. Paul has also acted for RailCorp and the SRA Residual Management Team in winding down SRA's operations and also for RIC, RailCorp and SRA in the restructuring and transition of the metropolitan rail infrastructure and operations from SRA and RIC to RailCorp.

Paul advises on private mergers and acquisitions across the energy, resources, oil and gas, transport and communications sectors. He has led due diligence teams on large transactions and also provides transaction support in public mergers of energy and resources companies. Paul’s expertise includes foreign investment advice on takeovers and acquisitions as well as applications to Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board.

Paul deals widely in complex contractual arrangements including joint ventures across the energy, transport and communications sectors. He has drafted shareholder agreements and joint venture agreements for incorporated and unincorporated ventures as well as partnerships. Paul’s diverse sector experience includes joint venture agreements for a courier and package haulage business, a water recycling project, a subsea cable, a telecommunications distribution network, an internet service provider, an internet protocol television (IPTV) content aggregator, and a sugar refining business.

Paul has significant experience in corporate and commercial transactions in the mining sector. He advises on mergers and acquisitions spaning coal and uranium miners as well as contract boring and drilling companies. He also deals with foreign investment approvals and due diligence exercises. Paul has extensive expertise in complex contractual arrangements, including sale and purchase agreements and ancillary contracts in the sale process as well as rail haulage, port access and related services contracts.

Paul deals widely in corporate and commercial transactions in the oil and gas sector spaning mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, joint ventures as well as diverse contractual arrangements. He advises on the acquisition and development of gas pipelines through construction to commissioning, drawing upon an intimate knowledge of easement acquisition, registration of plans and vesting of easements under the Pipelines Act. Also well versed in regulatory matters, Paul has a keen understanding of interplay between industry regulation and contract requirements, advising both supply and demand-side clients on supply and transportation agreements.

Paul has wide dealings and a broad understanding of the rail industry, particularly in NSW. He has acted in the sale and lease of assets and equipment, led due diligence exercises, and advised on diverse contractual arrangements, structural issues and policy matters. Some of Paul’s major transactions include acting for the NSW Government on the lease of the interstate mainline and Hunter Valley railway infrastructure; advising various clients on rail haulage contracts; and leading due diligence on a proposed rail haulage company sale. Paul has also advised on NSW rail structural issues in the transition of the metropolitan rail infrastructure and operations from SRA and RIC to RailCorp.

Paul has significant experience in diverse transactions across the telecommunications sector. He has acted in the establishment and operation of numerous joint ventures such as pay TV, IPTV, microwave distribution, submarine cables and digital radio broadcasting ventures, as well as multiple mergers and acquisitions across the sector. Paul advised on the rollout and provision of Australia’s national analogue and digital broadcasting transmission service, and the establishment of digital multiplexes and spectrum access for community broadcasters. Paul’s expert advisory also includes satellite procurement, launch and customer contracts, operation and maintenance agreements and regulatory issues. His leading client list includes Optus, Broadcast Australia, Southern Cross Cables, NTL Telecommunications, and FetchTV.