Ben Smith
Partner
Norton Rose Fulbright (Asia) LLP
Related services and key industries
Biography
Ben Smith is an energy lawyer based in Singapore, where he advises on oil and gas matters and transactions. Ben has a particular focus on the development of LNG Projects and the long term sale and purchase of LNG, but also advises on all types of upstream developments, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures.
Ben has been seconded to a supermajor in the UK for seven months and to a Japanese trading house in Tokyo for two years. On both secondments he advised on oil and gas related matters.
Chambers & Partners Asia Pacific 2015 comments that "Ben Smith draws much praise for his LNG work, in addition to his expertise across multiple aspects of oil and gas."
Professional experience
Collapse all- 1997 - Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, College of Law, London
- 1996 - Diploma in Law, College of Law, London
- 1994 - B.A., Medieval & Modern History, Royal Holloway & Bedford New College, University of London
- Ben was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in 2000
- Ben was admitted as a solicitor of the High Court of Hong Kong in 2015
- Solicitor, qualified in England & Wales
- Solicitor, qualified in Hong Kong
- Advising the capacity holder of an LNG export project in the United States on its commercial arrangements with fellow capacity holders and its marketing of LNG to customers.
- Advising a Japanese client on the negotiation of multiple long term LNG SPAs for sales of US LNG.
- Advising the lead contractor to a Technical Services Contract on the development of a large oilfield in Southern Iraq.
- Advising a private equity fund on the proposed acquisition of upstream assets in Kazakhstan.
- Advising the largest offtaker in connection with the development of the Singapore LNG terminal.
- Advising participants in offshore blocks in the South China Sea on sales of gas in China.
- Advising the seller on the first ever agreement to sell coalbed methane derived LNG to an Asian buyer.
- Advising a Hong Kong power company on the negotiation of the terms of a long term LNG purchase and the associated LNG terminal use arrangements.
- Advising an Asian client on the terms of a terminal use agreement and the sale of regasified LNG.
- Representation of an independent oil company on the sale of a subsidiary holding an interest in a production sharing contract in Indonesia.
- Representation of a UK listed independent oil company on the acquisition of a number of upstream interests in West Africa.
- Representation of a UK based international gas company on the acquisition of an interest in a Production Sharing Contract in Algeria.
- Advising an LNG Project on an analysis of its suite of LNG sales agreements identifying commercial strategic and tactical advantages and weaknesses.
- Advising an international oil and gas company in relation to the joint venture arrangements for an international oil pipeline in the Caspian Region.
- Representation of a UK listed independent oil company on the sale of most of its gas production in Ukraine.
- Representation of a UK based international gas company on its acquisition of an interest in the development of a new LNG terminal in the UK.
- “Destination Clauses: Are reports of their death exaggerated?” LNG Business Review, June 2015
- Co-author, “Legal risks in China shale opening”, Petroleum Economist, October 2014
- “Asia-Pacific's Shifting LNG Market”, Petroleum Economist, November 2010
- “LNG Buyer, Beware”, Energy Risk, Q1 2009
- “Are More Warranties Needed for LNG Sale and Purchase Agreements?”, LNG Business Review, January 2009
- “LNG: First Glimmers of a New Dawn for Long-term Buyers?”, LNG Business Review, October 2008
- “The Role of Short Term Trading in the LNG Markets of the Future”, Oxford Energy Forum, November 2004
Insights
Green LNG – how green is it and does it need to be policed?
Publication | September 27, 2022
Carbon capture technology
Publication | July 01, 2021
Hydrogen
Publication | July 01, 2021