The Legal 500

Arntzen de Besche’s oil and gas group has a very broad practice which includes work for government departments in Norway and as adviser to sovereign governments in Asia, Africa and South-America, as well as for leading oil companies. The loss of Jan B Jansen to BA-HR is significant. Christian Michelet ‘combines deep legal knowledge with a wide understanding of petroleum policy and industrial and commercial issues’. Erlend Bakken is ‘one of our best strategic advisers’, and Dag Erlend Henriksen is ‘a very skilled lawyer’. Clients include BP, Shell, Total and Petroleum Geo Services.

BA-HR ‘delegates matters across the firm astutely in terms of suitability to the matter and ongoing availability’. The oil and gas group, headed by Morten P Smørdal, has been strengthened by the arrival of energy tax guru Jan B Jansen from Arntzen de Besche, which also widens the practice from a predominantly transactional focus. Rune Svoren led the work for Aker Exploration in its merger with Det norske oljeselskap. Mats Saether is ‘prompt, detailed orientated and insightful’. Oil sector clients include Seadrill, Deep Sea Supply and Petroprod.

Kluge Advokatfirma DA ‘provides excellent service with well-trained and likeable lawyers’. Stavanger-based Preben Falck gives ‘high-quality, relevant advice’ and Jane Wesenberg ‘has continually impressed’. Thomas Abrahamsen advised Faroe Petroleum Norge in a complex cross-border swap agreement with Dong involving licenses on both the UK and the Norwegian continental shelves. Clients include Eni Norge and Wintershall Norge.

Kvale Advokatfirma Da has ‘a very competent team with good to excellent industry knowledge, and will always utilise the appropriate resources for the project’. Amund Bjøranger Tørum and Yngve Bustnesli are ‘both professionally strong and have a good reputation in the oil business’. The firm has a framework agreement with the Norwegian Oil Industry Association to advise on legal matters relevant to the oil industry. Jens Brede continues to represent Statoil in litigation andsucceeded in a dispute with Odfjell over the rig Deepsea Atlantic. Clients include Rocksource and Talisman Energy.

Advokatfirmaet Schjødt DA ‘continues to be in the absolute top league of Norwegian law firms with petroleum law competence’. Peter Hiorth ‘has a unique competence as tax expert combined with a commercial understanding of the commercial drivers of an exploration and production company’, and Johs Faugstad is ‘a top commercial layer with useful in-house experience’. Trond Sollund is ‘effective and business-minded’. Typical instructions include advice on the sale of a licence interest, and renegotiation of drilling contracts for oil and gas majors. Ingvald Falch and Dag Sigvart Kaada are recommended. Clients include ExxonMobil, BP, Total and ConocoPhillips.

Kyllingstad Kleveland Advokatfirma DA, in Oslo and Stavanger, has established a reputation sufficient to attract referrals from major law firms. Erik Brannsten recently acted as arbitrator in a major dispute between two licence groups on the Norwegian Continental shelf and involving three international oil companies. Eirik Høiby, Per Kyllingstad are recommended. Clients include Centrica Norge and Teekay Petrojarl.

Selmer’s sector clients remain ‘positive about its good quality work’. The group’s highlight transaction of the year was the representation Det norske oljeselskap through the lengthy due diligence and ultimate contractual arrangements for the merger with Aker Exploration. Sverre Tysland has a ‘pragmatic and balanced approach’, and senior lawyer Øyvind Olimstad is ‘very good on all criteria’. Per Harg is expert in framework regulations for petroleum activities. Thomas Michelet has established a near dominant share of the Russian market. Clients include Grenland Group and Alstom Norway.

Simonsen Advokatfirma DA’s ‘oil industry knowledge and understanding makes for very appropriate and to the point feedback’. The group represents a dozen oil and gas companies active on the Norwegian continental shelf through exploration, development and production. Per Seime has’vast experience, a good network and a very good overview of the oil and gas business’. Bjørn-Erik Leerberg ‘does not get lost in details but has very good oversight and an understanding of what his client is trying to achieve’, and senior lawyer Preben Willoch is highly commended. Clients include BG Norge, Aladdin Oil & Gas, and sovereign governments including Timor-Leste.

Wiersholm has ‘a small team’ in which the ‘key lawyers have an in-depth knowledge of the area which is vital to the service level received’. Anniken Maurseth joined the group from her senior position in the Statoil legal department during 2010. Thomas Svensen has ‘great legal knowledge, is very pleasant to work with and has outstanding oral pleading skills’. The expertise of the group is underscored by the firm’s five year framework agreement with Statoil, and a similar three to five year agreement with Det norske oljeselskap, the second largest operator on the Norwegian Continental shelf; the regrettable corollary for potential clients is that the firm is frequently conflicted out of other instructions.

Wikborg Rein fields a ‘very well organized, excellent oil and gas team’. Practice head Jarle Erik Sandvik has ‘excellent knowledge of the gas industry and its legal framework’, and Dag Mjaaland is ‘very well organized in energy disputes’. Aadne Haga, who handles the group’s Russian instructions, is ‘knowledgeable and very hard working’. Clients include Dana Petroleum and Fortis Petroleum.

Advokatfirmaet Haavind AS’ Rune Omdahl is ‘effective, commercially strong, and focused’, although ‘the firm could consider staffing up on Exploration and Production, and oil service junior lawyers’. Clients include Bayerngaz Norge and Lundin Norway.

Advokatfirmaet Steenstrup Stordrange DA’s Morten Tidemann, in Stavanger, and Erik Myhr Nilsen, in Bergen, provide good support to mid-tier operators and service providers in the sector. Clients include Petromarker and Fabricom.

Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS has a following of major sector corporates including Centrica Energy, Bayerngas Norge, and ConocoPhilips. Rune Solberg is ‘very knowledgeable about upstream oil and gas law in Norway’; Solberg, who is also a member of the M&A and capital markets teams, is an excellent choice for licence bids and transactions. Stephen Knudtzon was legal adviser to Odfjell Invest in a recent court case regarding a drilling contract dispute of the oil rig Deepsea Atlantic.