Julian Nichol
Julian Nichol is a member of Akin Gump's global project finance group. Mr Nichol advises on a wide range of transactional work, with a focus on representing sponsors, funds, financial institutions, governments and contractors on the development and financing of power, oil and gas projects. He also advises clients on mergers and acquisitions and private equity investments in the energy sector.
Mr. Nichol's practice focuses on the acquisition, disposal, development and project financing of independent power generation projects and power transmission/distribution projects in the U.K, continental Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Mr. Nichol also advises on oil and gas projects, including reserve-based financing.
Over the past 20 years, Mr. Nichol has worked on more than 30 power generation projects encompassing gas, coal, oil, hydro, solar, wind, geothermal and biomass technologies. He also advises clients on energy storage, transmission and distribution projects, including the range of services to grid required as a result of the increasing role played by renewable technologies in the generation mix. Mr. Nichol's clients include developers, funds and lenders, as well as governments and contractors, and much of his recent work has been in Sub-Saharan Africa, where he has developed experience in DFI-funded power projects involving the IFC, AfDB, EBRD, EIB, OPIC, Proparco, BDEAC, FMO, DEG, Swedfund and EAIF.
Mr. Nichol's recent work includes:
' Advising the sponsors on the development and financing of the Kribi and Dibamba IPPs in Cameroon (Cameroon's first IPPs)
' Advising a majority private equity house on the acquisition of a majority equity stake in the Azura Edo IPP in Nigeria
' Advising the sponsors on the development and financing of the 52.5 MW Shams Ma'an Solar PV Project in Jordan, financed by JBIC, NEXI and a range of international commercial banks
Practice Area
Panels
- Consulting Editorial Board
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 1995
Membership
- Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales
Education
- L.P.C., College of Law, York, 1995
- LL.B., with honors, University of Lancaster, UK, 1994
- Diploma in European Law, University of Limburg at Maastricht, 1993
- Diplme O'Etudes Juridiques Francaiss, Universit de Nancy, France, 1992
1 Contributions by Julian Nichol
PRACTICE NOTES
Structuring Project Finance for Energy and Infrastructure: Risk Allocation, Political Risk Mitigation and Credit Enhancements, illustrated by the Azura Edo independent power project (PCOA and World Bank Guarantees)
Introduction to project finance structures
This Practice Note explores what ‘structure’ signifies within a project finance deal and flags the principal considerations that shape how such transactions are put together. It examines the Azura Edo independent power project in Nigeria (Azura Edo IPP) as a detailed case study, using it to highlight and clarify several recent, inventive structuring approaches in project finance that have been deployed successfully to address specific risks and hurdles. It is not a primer on project finance and therefore presumes readers have a basic grounding in the subject. For a starting point on project finance, see Practice Note: Introduction to project finance. The emphasis here is on construction financings—that is, brand‑new schemes built from the ground up (often called ‘greenfield projects’)—rather than the disposal or acquisition of already operating assets (commonly known as secondary market transactions), which account for a significant share of overall market activity. Broadly, the guidance applies to the asset class typically described as ‘energy and infrastructure’ projects, covering endeavours as varied as power plants and oil, with examples showing how defined risks and challenges have been addressed to enable successful implementation in the structuring of project finance transactions described in this Note and referenced for further reading...
Banking & Finance
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