Chris Down

Partner
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP

London
United Kingdom
T:+44 (20) 74445642
London
United Kingdom
T:+44 (20) 74445642
Chris Down

Chris Down

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Biography

Chris Down is a projects lawyer based in London.

Chris has broad experience of advising on the development and financing of renewable energy projects and midstream projects in the refining, petrochemicals and oil & gas sectors and his practice spans the construction, project document and financing aspects of these projects. He is also an engineer and a member of the Institution of Engineering & Technology. 

Chris has a strong focus on the development and financing of power projects in the EMEA and Central Asian regions. He spent two years working in the power development team of a Japanese trading house. 

In the Middle East, Chris has advised on more than a dozen independent renewable and gas-fired power and water desalination projects in Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar and has helped clients restructure projects in many of these jurisdictions. His experience in Central Asia covers the development and financing of projects in countries such as Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, where he has been at the forefront of the development of the IPP market. 

Chris advises on the development and financing of power and water projects throughout Africa and has worked on project developments in Egypt, Tunisia, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia. His experience covers conventional, gas-fired, wind and solar power projects, together with hybrid energy projects such as solar plus storage and integrated solar combined cycle. Chris has also worked extensively on electricity transmission and interconnection projects, including advising on the privatization of the Kurdistan electricity distribution system, advising the GCC Interconnector Authority on the power exchange and trading arrangements for the GCC interconnector project and advising on cross border power trading arrangements in Africa. 

In the midstream and downstream oil & gas sector Chris has worked on a number of major infrastructure projects and virtual pipeline projects in emerging markets, advising on project development and offtake arrangements to move molecules and product under a range of contractual models.

Chris regularly advises on M&A transactions in the renewables, power and oil and gas sectors across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. His work includes UK offshore wind, gas-fired power in the Middle East and midstream oil & gas in Africa.


Professional experience

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  • Solicitor, qualified in England & Wales

The Legal500
'a truly first-class projects lawyer, with exceptional knowledge of the EMEA power market and staggeringly good technical knowledge'.