Gavin Watson has been a trusted advisor for many years. He unfailingly provides intuitive and encompassing advice on a range of transactions and matters including in relation to major international project development as well as cross-border corporate and M&A matters.
The Legal 500 U.K. 2020

Pillsbury partner Gavin Watson advises clients on complex corporate and commercial transactions, specializing in the energy and sustainable finance sector, as well as the development and financing of energy and infrastructure projects worldwide.

In recent years, Gavin’s practice has focused more closely on various aspects of the energy transition and the emerging circular economy, including advising one of the first floating offshore wind developers on its plans to decarbonize oil & gas operations and large onshore industrial processes, advising a leading fusion energy company on the development of a commercial scale demonstrator in the UK, and counseling several engineering and technology companies seeking to commercialise technologies and concepts that advance energy transition or enable growth of the circular economy. As traditional energy sources underpin energy security in the near term, Gavin continues to support clients on oil & gas, LNG, petrochemical and related transactions or projects. His experience spans Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Representative Experience

  • Counsel to a floating offshore wind developer on its bid for seabed leases under the Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas Leasing Round organized by Crown Estate Scotland and the subsequent development of seabed leases awarded through that process.
  • Counsel to a leading plastic recycling company on various commercial arrangements including negotiation of technology licensing arrangements across Europe and Asia, as well as negotiation of feedstock supply and product offtake agreements.
  • Counsel to a floating offshore wind developer on its arrangements to supply green power to an FPSO engaged in field development activities in the UK Continental Shelf.

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  • Counsel to one of the leading fusion development companies on its collaboration with the UK Atomic Energy Agency to build and operate its fusion demonstration plant at the Culham Campus in England.
  • Counsel to the developer of a waste-to-energy/carbon capture technology on the structuring of various options to commercialise its IP and pursue opportunities created by the energy transition.
  • Counsel to one of the world's leading petrochemical companies on various corporate and governance matters including the structuring and development of its investment in a world-scale polyethylene project in Central Asia.
  • Counsel to a consortium of companies in the international oil industry on the potential redevelopment of certain assets in the UK North Sea on a limited recourse basis.
  • Counsel to an Asian national oil company on various corporate, finance and commercial matters including the development of contract areas in Iraq, governance and compliance arrangements, and joint ventures in the MENA region.
  • Counsel to a global alternative energy company in connection with its potential supply of wind turbines for the development of a renewable energy project in the Middle East.
  • Counsel to the Hass Petroleum Group, a leading oil marketing company in Africa, on its sale of a strategic stake in the company to Oman Trading International, a global trading company that specializes in energy products.
  • Counsel to a Middle East-based oil & gas exploration and production company in relation to the negotiation and subsequent development of its petroleum interests in various African countries.
  • Acting as international counsel to a leading North American drilling company in connection with its bid for, and subsequent operation of, various drilling programmes in Central Asia and the Middle East.
  • Advising a European oilfield services company in connection with various aspects of its joint venture and operating arrangements in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
  • Advising various government-related entities on a range of corporate matters including the acquisition of interests in energy and natural resource assets, the development of industrial and petrochemical facilities and the disposal of interests in transportation infrastructure projects.
  • Counsel to an Asian trading company in connection with various aspects of a long-standing LNG investment in the Middle East.
  • Counsel to the world's largest independent energy trading company in connection with the potential development of several trading and infrastructure projects in the Middle East and North Africa.
  • Counsel to two Japanese trading companies in connection with an investment in, and aspects of the development of, an industrial gas facility in the Middle East.
  • Counsel to an international energy trading company on various matters including the negotiation of a US$300 million borrowing base facility agreement as well as certain corporate transactions and pre-dispute matters.
  • Counsel to a private Malaysian exploration and production company on its potential acquisition of an interest in a significant offshore gas asset in the East Mediterranean.
  • Counsel to a listed Middle Eastern energy company on various matters including its acquisition of upstream assets in Yemen and Russia.
  • Advising a Middle Eastern Petrochemical company on various contractual and commercial matters.
  • Advising a Dubai-based investment company on the development of various refinery assets in Asia and North Africa.
  • Advising a group of investors on their investment in the development and expansion of a petrochemical facility in Libya, North Africa, in joint venture with one of the world’s largest petrochemicals companies.
  • Counsel to a leading petrochemical company as shareholder on the development of a US$3 billion petrochemical project in Oman.
  • Counsel to a leading LPG company, on the development of an LNG import terminal at Canvey Island, England.
  • Counsel to various parties and various export credit agencies in connection with the development of cross-border oil & gas pipeline projects in Central Asia, West Africa and South East Asia.

Professional Highlights

  • Recognized in Euromoney Expert's Guide to the World's Leading Energy and
    Resource Lawyers (2008–2018)
  • Ranked in Chambers Global as a leading lawyer for corporate and commercial work in the United Arab Emirates (2008–2019)

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Education

  • The College of Law, London

    LL.M. (Hons), Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge

    LL.B. (Hons), The University of Manchester

Admissions

  • England and Wales