Norton Rose Fulbright advises Equinor on two joint ventures

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised international energy company Equinor on its participation in the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) carbon transportation & storage joint venture with bp and TotalEnergies and in its joint venture with bp to build Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power), the UK’s first gas-fired power plant with integrated carbon capture.

Committed to long-term value creation in a low-carbon future, Equinor aims to become a net zero emissions company through increased investment in renewables and low carbon technologies. The two projects are among the first carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects to be constructed in the UK and reached financial close last week.

NEP is expected to commence construction in mid-2025. The project consists of a CO2 gathering network and onshore compression facilities, as well as a 145km offshore pipeline. It also includes subsea injection and monitoring facilities for the Endurance saline liquefier, which is located 1000m below the seabed. It is expected that the project will transport and store up to 4 million tonnes of capture carbon emissions initially, each year, and this could rise to an average of up to 23 million tonnes by 2035, with further expansion of the East Coast Cluster.

NZT Power, also located in Teesside and part of the East Coast Cluster, is the second JV Norton Rose Fulbright advised Equinor on. A first-of-a-kind power plant with carbon capture which supports decarbonisation ambitions across the UK, it will generate up to 725 MW of decarbonised power. The plant has the capacity to capture up to 2 million tonnes of CO2 per year.

The multi-disciplinary team from Norton Rose Fulbright was led by London-based partners Charez Golvala and Alistair Black. The team advised Equinor on multiple, complex energy, commercial and financial aspects of the two JVs. They provided continuity of knowledge over the duration of the projects, integrating the firm’s expertise across regulatory, competition, IP, employment and project finance matters.

Charez Golvala commented: “We are delighted to have advised Equinor on two JVs that support the UK's energy transition and will help to capture millions of tonnes of carbon each year. We are excited to see the projects develop and positively impact the UK.”

Echoing Charez, Alistair Black commented: “We are incredibly proud to support Equinor on its investment into these first-of-a-kind projects. Both will contribute significantly towards the decarbonisation ambitions of the UK.”

Norton Rose Fulbright has over 1,300 lawyers across all practice areas and is one of the largest and most prolific energy, infrastructure and natural resources teams of any law firm in the world. The global team has been at the heart of many of the world’s leading energy and infrastructure projects, including innovative and first-to-market transactions.

The full team included:

• Partners Alex Rogers, Amy Armitage, Caroline Thomas, Catrina Smith, Holly Stebbing, James Stonebridge, Lucy Bruce Jones, Sarah Fitzpatrick and Susanna Rogers
• Counsels Giannis Waymouth, Matt Hacking, Lai Lynn Choong, Suncica Miletic and Violetta Bourt
• Senior associates Alex Redbourne, Jack Jeffries, Jade Porter, Juliette Kelly, Khawaja Akbar, Matthew Eccles, Kyle Le Croy and Rebecca Yourstone   
• Associates Edward Davenport, Emma Clarke, Gillian Jaravaza, Julien Haverals, Olivia Fox, Polina Maloshchinskaia, Tim Ikramov and Tilly Berkout
• Trainee solicitors Zainab Hamid, Bea Byrne Hill, Benedict Trimmer and Rachel Lim.