Founded in Paris in 1920, Gide is a leading international law firm with 12 offices spread throughout the world.
Gide is physically present in six regions of the world, with 11 offices, enabling it to act on cases globally.
8 December 2016
Deals | Africa | Energy | Projects
The teams of international law firm Gide, alongside those of Ivorian firm ADKA, coordinated by Michel Pitron (Gide) and Adama Kamara (ADKA), advised State companies Société Nationale d’Opérations Pétrolières de la Côte d’Ivoire (PETROCI-Holding) and Société des Energies de Côte d'Ivoire (CI-Energies), on building a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply terminal in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire.
Announced by the Côte d'Ivoire government on 4 October 2016, the decision was acted upon on 25 November with the signing, in Abidjan, of a shareholders’ agreement between the project’s operator Total (34%), domestic companies PETROCI (11%) and CI-Energies (5%), as well as SOCAR (26%), Shell (13%), Golar (6%) and Endeavor Energy (5%).
The project will be developed and operated by Côte d’Ivoire-GNL (CI-GNL). It provides for the construction of a floating storage and LNG regasification unit, a docking quay for LNG carriers and a natural gas transmission pipe, running from the storage unit located in the Vridi area lagoon to the electricity generation facilities.
With this new infrastructure, whose overall cost is estimated at approximately USD 200 million (i.e. 120 billion CFA francs) and whose commercial start-up date is projected for mid-2018, CI-GNL will be in a position to provide 90 million cubic feet per day of LNG (90 MMCFD). This quantity may be progressively increased to reach 400 MMCFD, making Côte d’Ivoire the leading regional LNG import hub in western Africa, and enabling it to cover both regional and domestic demand.
Ibrahima Diaby, CEO of PETROCI-Holding, indicated: “We commend all our partners for signing this agreement in such a short time period. This project is of strategic importance for our country, and it can now be properly launched. We would also like to extend our thanks to our advisors (law firms ADKA and Gide) for their creativity and the quality of their interventions during the structuring and implementation of this operation”.
Gide’s team comprised partner François Krotoff and senior associate Nicolas Jean on energy and project financing aspects, as well as partner Julien David and associate Magueye Gueye on corporate aspects. ADKA’s team comprised partner Adama Kamara and senior associate Adama Koné.
Other legal counsels: Total was advised by Norton Rose Fulbright (partner Christophe Asselineau and associate Marie Guis on corporate aspects, as well as partner Marta Giner Asins and associate Arnaud Sanz on competition law aspects); Golar was advised by Orrick Rambaud Martel (partner Yves Lepage and associate Guillaume Vitrich in Paris, and associate Doux Didier Boua in Abidjan); and SOCAR was advised by Linklaters (Mehdi Boumedine).
