Christopher Marchesi

Biography

Christopher is a Special Counsel in our Projects and Construction group.

He focuses on energy across the value chain, infrastructure, mining, mineral processing, the early-stage green metals industry, oil & gas, carbon farming, and carbon capture and storage projects and transactions, with particular expertise in large-scale project development and energy transition (clean energy and decarbonisation) matters.

Chris’ areas of speciality includes acquisitions and divestments, project structuring, joint ventures and joint development arrangements, land access and acquisitions for large scale project development, First Nations partnerships, offtake and energy supply arrangements, carbon project acquisition and development, carbon credit transactions, approvals and regulatory engagement.

Chris has also worked extensively in G+T’s offices in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, Australia and has completed secondments with TotalEnergies and ENGIE Services.

Experience

Christopher’s experience includes advising:

  • Posco and its joint venture partners (including Marubeni and CSC) in relation to the proposed development of the Port Hedland Green Steel Project, including land tenure, environmental approvals and government funding arrangements.

  • Legacie Water Infrastructure Developers in relation to the proposed development of the Ngarluma Water Desalination Project, including project joint development arrangements, First Nations partnerships, financing and land acquisition arrangements.

  • bp and Macquarie in relation to land access and project structuring matters for the proposed Australian Renewable Energy Hub.

  • Salubris Australia Limited in relation to the acquisition and development of various ACCU projects, including pastoral lease and carbon project acquisitions, eligible interest holder consent arrangements, entry into ACCU sales and marketing arrangements and ACCU financing arrangements.

  • ATCO Australia in relation to the Hydrogen Jobs Plan Project in South Australia (which is the development of a world leading hydrogen power plant, electrolyser and storage facility together with BOC and the Office of Hydrogen Power South Australia).

  • TotalEnergies in relation to its LNG offtake arrangements for the Ichthys LNG project.

  • Mitsui E&P Australia in relation to LNG supply arrangements for the first cargoes from the Waitsia Gas Project.

  • Alinta Energy (now APA) in relation to tenure, land access and approval matters generally, and in respect of their power transmission infrastructure in the Pilbara, Western Australia, including for the Roy Hill Project and the Chichester solar project.

  • Beach Energy in relation to its $1.585 billion acquisition of Lattice Energy Limited from Origin Energy Limited (together with multiple related gas offtake arrangements), offshore drilling arrangements in the Otway Basin and biodiversity offset arrangements for the Waitsia Gas Project.

  • CNOOC in relation to its interests in the North-West Shelf Joint Venture.

  • Wesfarmers Chemicals Energy and Fertilisers in relation to joint venture and tenure arrangements associated with the Mount Holland lithium project.

  • Tellus Holdings in relation to the development of the Sandy Ridge Facility (Australia’s first dual open-cut kaolin mine and geological waste repository for the storage of low level radioactive and hazardous wastes).

Awards and Recognition

  • 2023 IFLR Guide

    Rising Star in Project Development: Energy