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Richard Keenan

Partner

Dubai +971 4 247 2106

Johannesburg

  • About
  • Representative Matters
  • Credentials
  • About

    Richard is one of the leading and most recognized practitioners in the Middle East and North Africa. Richard has played a key role in relation to the successful financing of many award winning projects across various sectors. He advises on all aspects of project financings, including development, operation and financing of projects and his experience in terms of industry sectors includes power and water, oil and gas (upstream and downstream), mining and industrial sectors.

    In the Middle East, Richard has advised sponsors and lenders in relation to some of the largest independent power and water projects ever financed in the world. Richard led the legal team advising the lenders in relation to the $US1.7 billion financing of the Jazan Air Separation Facility in Saudi Arabia which was awarded “Global Finance Deal of the Year: Projects 2016” by The American Lawyer. A number of projects Richard has worked on received "Deal of the Year" awards by leading industry journals. Most recently, he advised a six-member consortium of equity investors on the joint development and financing of the circa US$1.3 billion Warsan waste-to-energy project procured by Dubai Municipality, which has closed in June and is Dubai’s first waste-to-energy project and one of the world’s largest waste-to-energy (WtE) plants. He is also advising on many other high-profile projects, including the development and financing of innovative data centre projects in the region, as well as the privatization of Saudi Arabia's flour mills and grain silos.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Practices and Industries
  • Representative Matters
    • Advising a developer/operator on the financing of a data centre portfolio in Saudi Arabia to provide data storage and cloud services to a major technology company. This includes drafting and negotiation of legal documentation involving a modular expansion criteria to support phased integration of additional data centres and associated renewable energy infrastructure -- with a multitude of different hyperscalers -- under one accordion financing.
    • Advised a consortium consisting of SUEZ, ITOCHU Corporation, Engie Energy International and W.J. Towell & Co. LLC, on the development and financing of the U.S. $300 million 62 MIGD Barka IWP in Oman. The project reached financial close on March 30, 2016 and was implemented on a build-own-operate basis under the terms of water purchase agreements with the Oman Power and Water Procurement company. 
    • Represented a regional developer on its bid to develop and finance a 100 MW solar power project in the Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
    • Represented a sponsor consortium in connection with its bid for the Salalah 2 independent power project in the Sultanate of Oman.
    • Advised a bidding consortium in connection with its bid for the Qurayyat independent water project in the Sultanate of Oman.
    • Advised the lenders supporting ACWA Holding and Air Products’ bid to develop and finance an air separation unit as part of the Saudi Aramco’s Jazan Refinery Complex in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
    • Advised Sumitomo Corporation in relation to its bid to develop and finance the 2,400 MW and 130 MIGD Facility D independent water and power plant in Qatar.

    • Advising a major international fertilizer business on the drafting and negotiation of an ammonia offtake agreement in respect of a limited recourse financed ammonia production plant in Texas, USA.
    • Advised a developer and its consortium partners in connection with the development and financing of 4 solar IPPs as part of round 1 of Jordan’s renewable energy programme.
    • Advised Sumitomo Corporation in connection with the 1,600 MW capacity power plant and 52.5 MIGD reverse-osmosis Mirfa IWPP desalination plant in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
    • Advised Saudi Oger and Tenaga Nasional Berhad in connection with their bid to develop and finance the Saudi Aramco Third Party Cogeneration Projects at Abqaiq, Hawiyah and Ras Tanura in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
    • Advised Australian joint-venture SUB 161 in relation to a proposed liquefied natural gas project and gas sales agreements in Tanzania.
    • Advised the Sponsors, Suez Environnement S.A.S., Infilco Degremont, Inc. and The Morganti Group, Inc., on all aspects of the U.S. $225 million As-Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion PPP in Jordan.
    • Advised the TAQA/QEWC consortium on its bid for the 1,700 MW heavy fuel oil-fired Rabigh II independent power project in Saudi Arabia.
    • Advised the Acciona/Samsung/Sogez consortium on its bid for the Al Ghubrah 42MIGD independent water project in Oman.
    • Advised the Qatar Electricity & Water Company, Qatar Petroleum International, and Siemens Project Ventures consortium on its bid for the proposed U.S. $1.3billion, 1,600 MW Hassyan I independent power project in Dubai.
    • Advised the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and International Finance Corporation (IFC) in a U.S. $129 million debt and equity co-financing of the Patos Marinza oilfield in the southern region of Albania, one of the largest onshore oil deposits in continental Europe.
    • Advised International Power and Marubeni in connection with the U.S .$2.8 billion development and financing of the Fujairah F2 Independent Water and Power project in the United Arab Emirates.
    • Advised BNP Paribas, GIB, and Samba (as the Mandated Lead Arrangers), and KEIC (the official export insurer of Korea) and Riyad Bank, Al Rahji and National Commercial Bank (as arrangers of the Islamic facility) for the U.S. $2.7 billion financing of the Marafiq Independent Water and Power project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
    • Advised the project sponsors (Biwater and Al Kharafi & Sons) in connection with the U.S. $400 million financing of two sewage treatment plants in the United Arab Emirates. The project is one of the first wastewater treatment BOOT projects in the Middle East and is the first UAE wastewater project to be carried out on a project finance basis.
    • Advised the lenders (agency, commercial bank, and Islamic funders) in the U.S. $2.5 billion financing for the Shuaibah Independent Water and Power project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The deal has been named “EMEA Project Finance Deal of the Year” by International Financial Law Review and “EMEA Power Deal of the Year” by both Euromoney’s Project Finance magazine and Project Finance International Yearbook 2006.
    • Advised the lenders (14 commercial banks) in relation to Reliance Petroleum Ltd’s U.S. $6.1 billion expansion of its oil and gas refinery at Jamnagar, Gujarat, India. Of the total U.S. $6.1 billion cost of the expansion, U.S. $2 billion dollars is to be loaned by the 14 commercial banks. Once the expansion works are completed, the refinery will be the largest oil and gas refinery in the world.
    • Advised Citigroup in relation to the U.S. $205 million financing of the Unicem cement plant in Nigeria.
    • Advised the lenders (including JBIC, NEXI, KEXIM and COFACE) in the U.S.$4.5 billion Yemen LNG project involving the construction and operation of a two-train natural gas liquefaction plant plus associated pipelines, storage, and port facilities.
    • Advised the lenders (including five export credit agencies) in the U.S. $4.5 billion Yemen LNG project involving the construction and operation of a two-train natural gas liquefaction plant plus associated pipelines, storage, and port facilities.
    • Advised the lenders on the Ambatovy project in Madagascar, among the largest nickel projects under development in the world. The financing was in the region of U.S. $2.5 billion and was provided by AfDB, EDC, EIB, JBIC, Kexim, and commercial banks.
    • Advised the lenders on a U.S. $1 billion project financing for Equinox Minerals’ copper mine at Lumwana in Zambia. The lenders provided an amalgam of 12 different credit facilities, pulling together commercial banks, export credit agencies and development agencies. This represents one of the largest copper projects anywhere in the world currently advancing towards production and among the largest project-financed mining deals in Africa to date.
    • Advised the lenders in connection with the U.S. $400 million Moma Titanium project in Mozambique, sponsored by Kenmore Resources, involving political risk insurance from export credit agencies and loans from official credit agencies in Europe and Africa. This project financing was named the 2004 "Mining Finance Deal of the Year" by Mining Journal and "African Mining Deal of the Year" by Project Finance Magazine.
    • Advised project sponsors in the development and financing of the Hamma water desalination project in Algeria. Financing was provided by OPIC. This was the first project to be financed in Algeria on a project financed basis.
    • Advised the project sponsors in a commercial bank and ECA project financing of a U.S. $1.2 billion petrochemical facility to be constructed by Gulf of Suez Petrochemical Company near Alexandria, Egypt.
    • Advised project sponsors in relation to the Euro 461 million financing of the Rijnmond 790 MW gas-fired combined cycle electric power and steam co-generation facility in The Netherlands. This deal was awarded the “European Power Deal of the Year 2002” by Project Finance Magazine.
    • Advised the lenders in relation to the Rizziconi nominal 800 MW gas-fired combined cycle power project to be located near Rizziconi in the southern Italian region of Calabria.
    • Advised the project sponsors in relation to the U.S. $2.5 billion development and financing of the Hongsa 1800 MW lignite coal mine—mouth power project in the Hongsa District, Sayaboury Province of Lao PDR.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Credentials
    Education
    • Southern Cross University, New South Wales, LL.B., 1995
    • University of Sydney, B.A., 1992
    Bar Admissions
    • Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia
    Languages
    • English
    Accolades
    • Chambers Global, Projects and Energy (Middle East) (2018-2020) 
    • IFLR 1000, The guide to the world’s leading financial and corporate law firms - Highly Regarded (2021)
    • Who's Who Legal, Global Leader - Project Finance (2021)
    • The Legal 500 EMEA, Projects and Energy (2013)

    Areas of Expertise

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