Energy

We partner with clients in oil & gas, power, and renewables to deliver practical legal solutions that drive growth, manage risk, and advance major energy projects in Canada and beyond.
Key Contacts
Basra HarinderWhite AshleyBeaudoin YannickMacaulay DavidMaguire PatrickMunro Shawn
Energy tile

Oil & Gas

Our Oil & Gas Group has served as a strategic partner to both private and public sector participants in Canada's booming oil and gas industry for nearly a century. From industry conglomerates and investor groups to emerging independent producers and operators, our clients have entrusted us to advise them on some of the largest and most complex oil and gas development projects in the country.

We bring our cutting-edge, problem-solving orientation and practical, client-focused work ethic to bear on all facets of energy-related private M&A and project development transactions. And, we never lose sight of our clients' objectives and timelines. With the largest tax planning group in the country, one of the deepest regulatory and environmental law groups, and top-ranked government relations experts, our Oil & Gas Group offers our clients unrivalled breadth of expertise in significant energy transactions.

Power

Canada's extremely diverse and largely provincially segmented electricity market is undergoing significant change. A complex set of variables ranging from GHG emission reduction regulation, transmission and distribution constraints, resource availability, costs and technological advances are shaping our current and future generation, transmission and distribution needs. Government projections over the coming years make it clear that substantial investment in these sectors will be essential, creating new opportunities for Canadian and international power and transmission developers, related industries and their customers.

Bennett Jones is a leader in these areas, regularly providing advice on generation, transmission and distribution projects in Canada and internationally. Our global clients include power and transmission developers, facility owners, electric cooperatives, fuel suppliers, off-takers and steam/heat site hosts, as well as local, provincial and national regulatory boards and domestic and foreign agencies.

Our expertise includes assisting in project structuring, tax planning, regulatory compliance, EPC and EPC management contracts, project and conventional debt and equity financing, and site lease and acquisition. We have significant experience in acquisitions and divestitures in the electricity industry. We regularly negotiate a wide range of supply and sales contracts, including electricity trading and marketing agreements, off-take, power purchase and tolling agreements as well as other physical and financial contracts, operating agreements, interconnection arrangements with transmission and distribution grids, fuel supply and related arrangements, and steam and heat sales agreements.

We also possess substantial electricity sector restructuring experience, having drafted market rules and market-related contracts for wholesale electricity markets in Ontario and New Brunswick and having acted as counsel to several market participants within the deregulated electricity markets, representing bidders in virtually all energy and ancillary services MAP auctions that have been conducted by the Alberta Balancing Pool since 2000.

Our clients in the independent power business have participated in hundreds of power generation projects in Canada and abroad, which have involved facilities ranging in size from less than one MW to more than 1,000 MW, fuelled by sources as diverse as nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydro, biogas, biomass, solar and wind.

,,They're extremely knowledgeable... [and have] broad experience in terms of the different components of energy deals.,,

What Clients Say

Renewable Energy

While conventional energy sources will continue to be a large part of Canada's energy mix, the share of clean, renewable energy is growing quickly and will certainly continue to aggressively grow.

Participants in Canada's burgeoning renewable power and renewable fuels industry benefit from our timely and expert advice on a wide range of issues important to this sector. We have acted for clients in a variety of renewable power sectors, including, among others, hydro, wind, solar, biogas, biomass, biowaste, biofuels, and geothermal.

Navigating the corporate/commercial, regulatory and taxation landscape can be a daunting task for Canadian renewable power developers. Our lawyers have been key advisors at every step of the way, specifically retained with respect to acquiring project finance, accessing government incentives/programs, clearing regulatory hurdles, acquiring permits, completing environmental assessments, zoning real estate, acquiring and leasing real property, stewarding tax-efficient structures (including renewable power incentives like flow-through financing structures), developing private/public partnerships, drafting and reviewing commercial agreements (including power purchase and turbine supply agreements), and assisting with all aspects of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.

Our team has designed the program rules and program contracts for a series of Ontario Power Authority conservation and demand management programs. Our lawyers have also acted for and have strong connections to a number of large energy buyers, including having a comprehensive knowledge of provincial power authorities' renewable power procurement processes.

We conduct due diligence and provide opinions on the development and operation of wind, solar and geothermal projects for government departments, private companies, and public companies.

Bennett Jones lawyers are active in fund formation work in this industry and have acted in the formation of renewable energy investment funds, both domestically and internationally.

,,They approach their advice in a very practical way. We go to them with very specific problems and get very specific advice back.,,

What Clients Say

Client Work

Pacific Oil & Gas
in its acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Canbriam Energy for cash consideration
International Petroleum Corporation
in its acquisition of BlackPearl Resources (with an estimated enterprise value of approximately $675 million) by way of a share exchange pursuant to a plan of arrangement ...
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Encana
in its sale of gas pipeline and processing assets in Western Canada's Montney region to a partnership of Veresen and KKR for approximately $760 million
North West Redwater Partnership
in its $3.5-billion credit facility and $1.0-billion bond offering, the proceeds of which will contribute to the funding of the construction of North West's $8+ Billion bitumen refinery in the Alberta Heartland
EOG Resources
in a divestment of all of its assets in Manitoba and certain assets in Alberta through two separate transactions for approximately US $410 million
Repsol S.A.
in the proposed $15.1-billion acquisition of Talisman Energy
Canadian Non-Operated Resources I
in its $500-million Peace River High purchase from and joint venture with Tourmaline Oil
JAPEX Montney
in the acquisition, from Canadian subsidiaries of PETRONAS of an undivided 10% interest in upstream natural gas assets located in the North Montney area of BC
PetroChina International Investment Company
in its acquisition of an undivided 49.9% interest in Encana Corporation's approximately 445,000 acres in the Duvernay play for a consideration of $2.18 billion and its joint venture ...
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Mackenzie Valley Aboriginal Pipeline Group
in the negotiation and structuring of commercial agreements including ownership agreements among various aboriginal groups and various development, operating, shipping and financing agreements
Pan Orient Energy
on its sale of its subsidiary Pan Orient Energy (Thailand), which directly or indirectly holds 60% interests in petroleum Concessions SW1 and L44/43 and L33/43 in Thailand, for approximately US$180 million

Recognitions

Chambers Canada
Band 1, Energy: Oil & Gas
Band 2, Energy & Natural Resources: Mining
Band 3, Energy: Power
Chambers Global
Band 1, Energy: Oil & Gas
Band 2, Energy Sector (International & Cross Border); Mining (International & Cross Border)
Band 3, Energy: Power
The Legal 500: Canada
Ranked Tier 1, Energy - Oil and Gas
Ranked, Energy and Natural Resources: Mining
Ranked, Energy and Natural Resources: Power

Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory
Most Frequently Recommended, Energy (Electricity) (Calgary); Energy (Oil & Gas) (Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver)
Consistently Recommended, Energy (Electricity) (Vancouver)
Best Lawyers
Law Firm of the Year in Canada for Natural Resources Law
Legal Media Group's Benchmark Canada
Energy Litigator of the Year, Blair Yorke-Slader
Recognized as Energy/Resource Litigation Firm of the year

Basra Harinder

Harinder S. Basra

Calgary Managing Partner  •   Co-Head of Energy Practice

White Ashley

Ashley M. White

Partner  •   Co-Head of Energy Practice

Macaulay David

David J. Macaulay

Partner   •   Head of Power & Renewable Energy Practice

Maguire Patrick

Patrick T. Maguire KC

Vice Chair and Partner

At the centre of market-shaping deals and high-stakes disputes, Bennett Jones delivers clarity, strategy and results. Our cross-border teams turn complexity into progress, always focused on what drives your success.

Your Guide to Legal Solutions: Energy

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The Bennett Jones Story

At Bennett Jones, legal solutions are our starting point. What drives us forward is knowing our clients inside and out—their ambitions, obstacles and success metrics.

For more than a century, we have shaped outcomes that matter in business, in law and in the broader Canadian landscape. And our commitment extends beyond legal matters: we invest deeply in the communities in which we live and work.