Energy and Climate Change TransactionsPRINT PAGE
Mowrey Meezan Coddington Cloud LLP (M2C2) has expertise in legal and regulatory matters impacting companies engaged in the production and use of energy. Areas of expertise include:
- Conventional energy (coal, oil & gas, enhanced oil recovery, pipelines)
- Coal and petcoke gasification
- Mining
- Refining
- Renewable energy (geothermal, biomass, hydropower, wind)
- Transportation (ground, rail, aviation, maritime)
- Unconventional energy (shale, tar sands)
- Utilities (coal, natural gas, nuclear, integrated gasification combined cycle)
M2C2 lawyers have unique expertise in carbon capture and storage (CCS), a major carbon mitigation technology. Our CCS expertise extends to carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery, a proven technology that enables the simultaneous storage of industrial carbon dioxide emissions and production of conventional oil and gas.
Climate and Carbon Management Transactions
M2C2 is a leader in assisting clients with carbon-driven transactions under the Kyoto Protocol. Our lawyers have worked on monetization strategies, project development, carbon finance and trading, joint development agreements.
We have worked since the onset of the concept of carbon markets, assisting clients with strategy, development, and trading of carbon credit assets in the U.S., the E.U., and other jurisdictions. We understand the techniques best suited to recognize carbon mitigation value, which can result in cash flow crucial to project viability and success. M2C2 also understands the array of existing and fast-developing regulatory issues that uniquely create both risk and opportunities in this arena.
M2C2 lawyers work with existing energy companies and new enterprises organized to pursue development and trading opportunities arising from international and emerging national carbon regulatory schemes and voluntary reduction programs. We provide carbon management advice to conventional energy companies, infrastructure developers, renewable energy developers, airlines, and owners of fleet vehicles.
Our climate/carbon transactional practice encompasses the following services: (1) representing investors in and developers of carbon-reduction projects worldwide under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development and Joint Implementation mechanisms; (2) negotiating emission reduction purchase agreements; (3) structuring carbon finance transactions; (4) representing clients in carbon trades (in both regulated and voluntary markets); and (5) providing clients with technical, economic and policy advice related to renewable energy and carbon reduction projects.
M2C2 lawyers either currently or recently have completed carbon-related transactions in the United States, China, Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Bulgaria and Africa. M2C2 lawyers represented one of the world’s most highly regarded carbon investors on CER/allowance swaps under the EU-ETS, and provided the same services to one of the world’s largest chemical companies.
We have done cutting edge legal work related to the tax treatment of carbon credits and obtaining security interests in such units.
Representative Matters
- Represent the North American Carbon Capture and Storage Association.
- Represented the Coalition for Commodity CO2, the major trade advocacy organization active in the space. Representation in commercialization of coal-to-liquids technology, whereby anthropogenic carbon dioxide streams are sold for use in oil recovery applications.
- Represented investors in a 250 MW run-of-the-river hydropower project in Peru, a project intended to generate Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
- Represent the developer of a pipeline that will transport industrial carbon dioxide from a gasification facility for use in enhanced oil recovery.
- Represent oil & gas interests in pore space acquisition transactions.
- Drafted easements for carbon dioxide storage in deep saline pore space.
- Drafted carbon commodity swap agreements.
- Drafted carbon loan agreements.
- Advise a Fortune 50 chemical company on carbon reduction projects, including projects under consideration in Brazil, Russia, and Eastern Europe.
- Represented investor in coal-bed methane clean energy project in the Ukraine.
- Negotiated Emission Reduction Purchase Agreements under the CDM and the representation of buyers and sellers of credits on a bilateral and exchange basis, including for matters in Korea, Brazil and China.
- Represent joint venture partner in a major coal to liquids facility deal in Texas.
- Representation of investor in precedent-setting landfill projects in the United States and abroad involving a credit facility for both CERs and voluntary credits.
- Represented local government in landfill gas deal utilized as part of strategy by major University to become “carbon neutral.”