Lewis McDonald
Lewis is the global head of our energy practice, based in London.
Lewis has over 20 years' experience, advising companies on their energy projects around the world and has experience across the energy value chain (particularly upstream oil & gas, LNG, power and renewables) in developed markets and emerging markets.
Lewis has been based in Perth (2001-2004), London (2005-2008), Hong Kong (2008), Singapore (2008-2013), Korea (2013 – 2017), Tokyo (2017-2019) and London (2019-). He has a strong track record of building long-lasting relationships with clients around the world, working on market leading deals and building teams of lawyers.
Lewis has worked on secondments to BP's gas & power team in London and Epic Energy in Perth (then Australia's largest gas transmission company). He has spent over 10 years in our Asian offices, helping to build our business across the region.
He was part of the team that started our market-leading Southeast Asian energy practice when he was based in Singapore between 2008 and 2013, he built our Seoul office (and our market-leading Korean energy practice) between 2013 and 2017 and he was the Regional Head of our Asia Corporate Practice between 2016 and 2019. Lewis is consistently ranked as a top tier energy & projects lawyer by key independent legal directories such as Chambers and Legal 500. Lewis is qualified to practice English law.
Background
Lewis has honours degrees in Environmental Science and Law and has a strong interest in projects that supply energy to the world and which advance the energy transition. The energy team he leads at HSF is one of the largest of any international law firm and HSF has the vision of being the leading energy transition law firm in the world.
Experience & expertise
Selected matters
- Korea Gas Corporation (Korea’s largest gas company) on all aspects of its interest in Area 4, Mozambique, including the unitisation with Area 1, the $11bn Coral Floating LNG Project and the entry of Exxon into the project
- bp in relation to its joint venture with Deep Wind Offshore for the development of four offshore wind projects in Korea, including the initial acquisition, joint venture arrangements and ongoing service arrangements
- Mitsui on its EUR 575 million acquisition of a 27.5% interest in Aker Mainstream Renewables AS (one of the world's largest private renewable energy platforms), and joint venture with Aker Horizon AS
- Marubeni on its joint venture with bp to invest in offshore wind in Japan (including the formation of a joint venture company to bid for specific Japanese offshore wind projects)
- Mitsubishi Corporation in relation to its 15% interest in the multi-billion dollar LNG Canada project
- JERA (Japan’s largest power and LNG company) in relation to the acquisition of a 25% interest in the Gunfleet Sands Offshore Wind project in the UK
