Ownership & Legal for Transport in the Execute Stage

Objective

Execute the framework for Project Ownership and Legal Systems. Ensure that the required legal compliance obligations are fulfilled to allow plant operation and CO₂ transportation between selected CO₂ source and storage site.

Key Deliverables

• Executed copies of all contracts and necessary statutory registrations
• Implementation of granted key consents
• Incident response legal protocols
• Manual to contracts suite

Tasks

Compliance and regulatory issues 

• Legal review of application documents, including environmental impact assessment documents, for remaining regulatory consents
• Negotiation and agreement of draft conditions and statutory agreements attached to remaining regulatory consents
• Advice on discharge of pre-commencement conditions and documentation of discharge for granted key consents
• Advice throughout process of consideration of applications, including representation at any inquiry, appeal or other proceedings required to reach a final decision on remaining regulatory consents
• Ensure co-ordination with the processes for consenting of capture and storage

Property issues 

• Execute all contracts relating to acquisition (outright or by grant of rights) in all land parcels forming the pipeline/pipeline route plus maintenance, stand off and environmental mitigation areas, and third party consents and crossing agreements
• Seek to ensure the contracts are all interlinked in order that all required pipeline interests are delivered and paid for simultaneously with acquisition of all land rights required to assemble the full project
• Protect all contracted rights e.g. by registering them on the various titles

Contractual issues 

• Execute:
• Engineering, procurement and construction contract/s
• Pipeline equipment supply contract
• Compressor supply contract
• Vessels agreements
• Grid connection agreement for compressor booster station/s
• Operation and maintenance contract/s
• CO₂ Offtake and transportation contract with capture plant operator
• Storage contract with storage operator (if different)
• Interface arrangements with capture and storage partners, including allocation of liability and responsibility barriers and revenue flows
• Insurance policies
• Ongoing project management legal services, including:
• Placing and management of key supply chain agreements
• Site management including health and safety
• Management of cash flow
• Performance testing and commissioning
• Sign off and defect correction
• Appointment of consultants necessary to monitor ongoing legal compliance e.g. ecological clerk of works

Corporate structures and funding 

• Execute all agreements with project partners and funders , including:
• Shareholders/Partnership Agreement (if a joint venture structure)
• Subscription Agreement
• Debt funding and project finance agreements, including guarantee and security package
• Public funding agreements

Other Tasks

• Produce incident response protocols for legal aspects of procedures responding to environmental and health and safety incidents
• Ensure execution of agreements for required intellectual property rights with technology provider and among project partners, and all necessary registrations
• Legal advice on implementation of industrial relations, employee relations and workforce strategies and transfers and recruitment of employees.  Ongoing advice on employment law issues

Examples

Key Personnel

• Project Manager
• Legal Counsel
• Commercial Lead
• Procurement Lead
• Engineering Lead