Pillsbury Represents JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corp. in an Investment with NRG Energy Inc.

The CCS facility is supported by a 78MW combined cycle gas turbine generation facility which is also to be constructed on the W.A. Parish power plant site and will supply steam and electricity to the CCS facility. The captured CO2 will be compressed and transported via an 80 mile pipeline to the West Ranch oilfield in Jackson County, Texas, where the CO2 will be injected into the ground to facilitate enhanced oil recoveries. The CCS Project is designed to capture approximately 1.6 million tons of CO2 per year from the W.A. Parish power plant.

Pillsbury’s team led by Anthony Raven, a Partner in the Tokyo Energy & Infrastructure Practice, supported by Senior Associate, Olivia Matsushita, advised JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation on all aspects of the CCS Project from the early development phase, through their investment in the joint venture (Petra Nova) vehicle, and the US$250 million project financing of the Project by senior lenders, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Mizuho Bank, Ltd., with insurance provided by Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI). The Project is also supported by US$167 million of funding from the Department of Energy’s Clean Coal Initiative (CCPI) grant.

The Project is expected to come online by the end of 2016 and will result in a total production of circa 50-60 million barrels of oil at the West Ranch oilfield. The West Ranch oilfield will continue to be operated by Hilcorp Energy.