Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP acted as counsel to Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), in connection with the financing and development of the first three projects under the U.S.-Japan $550 billion bilateral strategic trade agreement formalized under a September 4, 2025 Memorandum of Understanding between the countries.

The first project is a $33.4 billion dollar investment to construct the world’s largest natural gas generation facility, a 9.2 gigawatt facility located near Portsmouth, Ohio, which will support the world’s largest AI-focused data center built by SoftBank subsidiary SB Energy. The second project is a $2.2 billion dollar deepwater crude oil export terminal off the Texas coast, which will directly load Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) for global export without the need for offshore lightering. The last project is a $600 million advanced high-pressure, high-temperature synthetic diamond grit manufacturing facility, a critical mineral for the semiconductor, automotive, and energy industries.

J.R. Smith led the U.S.-Japan Hunton team, which included J.A. Glaccum, Kevin Georgerian, William Newton, George Borovas, Casey Shaw, and Kathleen Dill. George Howell and Joshua Milgrom provided structuring and tax advice. Japanese law firm Nishimura & Asahi provided Japanese law support.