Singapore – K&L Gates Straits Law LLC, the Singapore office of global law firm K&L Gates, continues its expansion, welcoming partner Brad Roach and senior associate Alexandra Jones to the firm’s Energy, Infrastructure, and Resources (EIR) practice. The duo joins from Gibson Dunn where Roach was a co-chair of its global Oil and Gas practice group.

Roach has been based in Singapore for more than 25 years and is recognized for his extensive industry knowledge of the upstream oil and gas, LNG, power and downstream energy industries throughout Southeast Asia. He has a market leading M&A practice and has advised on transactions with an aggregate value of more than US$10 billion. In 2019, the team advised Murphy Oil on the divestment of its Malaysian operations to PTTEP for US$2.127 billion, which is the largest upstream M&A transaction undertaken in Southeast Asia in the past nine years. 

Roach and Jones have worked together on a number of high-profile transactions. They advised Chevron on its operations in the Rokan PSC in Indonesia, including the divestment of the 200 MW North Duri cogeneration facility to PT PLN (Persero). Currently, they are advising on the development of various oil and gas fields in Southeast Asia and advising on industry-first CCS project developments within the region.

Roach also has extensive experience in the development of LNG projects and advised the sponsors of the Donggi-Senoro LNG project and the Tangguh LNG project in Indonesia.  He has advised several state-owned energy companies on acquisitions and divestments and project developments. He is a past director and regional committee member of the Association of International Energy Negotiators (AIEN) and has received numerous accolades from his peers and industry rankings and is recognised as a leader in his field.

J. Ryan Dwyer, III, regional managing partner, Asia, said: “Brad is an excellent addition to the firm and will bolster our regional and global energy capabilities given his experience, relationships, and long-term commitment to the region. We are thrilled to welcome Brad and to continue expanding our offerings in Singapore and across Asia to meet growing client demands.”

John Crossley, Energy, Infrastructure, and Resources lead practice area leader said: “We are thrilled to welcome Brad and Ally to our EIR practice. Brad’s experience and leadership will turbocharge the strategic growth of our energy practice across the Asia-Pacific region, which is going from strength to strength as we develop and expand to meet the ever-changing regional and global needs of the energy industry.”

Roach’s arrival follows a series of recent lateral hires in Singapore. Since January, the firm has welcomed Asset Management and Investment Funds partner Jason Nelms, Finance partners Samuel Kolehmainen and Duc Nguyen, and Corporate partners David Kuo and Meraj Noor.

K&L Gates’ Energy, Infrastructure, and Resources practice assists clients involved in the many aspects of the global energy, infrastructure, and resources space through a variety of legal disciplines, including, among others, project development, finance, construction, energy and environmental regulation, government contracting, public policy, cross-border investment, acquisitions, and dispute resolution. With lawyers in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and South America, the practice serves project sponsors and developers in power generation, renewable energy, oil and gas, LNG, hydrogen, mining, transportation, and social infrastructure, as well as investors, banks, manufacturers, and contractors involved in the financing, building, and operation of these projects.