Martin Skehill

Martin is an experienced project development lawyer who advises on the development and financing of energy, water, wastewater and other infrastructure projects across the Middle East, Europe and Africa. Martin’s practice focuses primarily on project finance, Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), infrastructure development and utilities-related advisory work. He advises a mix of entities, including sponsors, project companies, government entities and lenders on energy, water and wastewater projects (including IPPs, IWPPs, ISTPs, IWTPs and nuclear projects). He also advises clients on a range of other finance, corporate, regulatory and general commercial matters, as well as on construction-related disputes.

• Advising TAQA Water Solutions (formerly named Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company (ADSSC)) on a broad range of infrastructure, corporate, general commercial and regulatory matters relating to the water and wastewater sectors, including in connection with multiple extensive infrastructure development projects across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
• Advising a Saudi developer and certain of its affiliates in respect of a wide range of corporate, commercial, construction and other infrastructure-related matters in the context of infrastructure investment and development, and asset regeneration and asset acquisition projects across a number of areas, including in the water, wastewater, conventional power, solar and waste-to-energy sectors.
• Advising a Saudi developer as lead consortium-member and successful bidder for the Jafurah IWP in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Advising a Saudi developer in connection with its bid for a large-scale schools PPP project in the Sultanate of Oman.
• Advising Romanian government-owned procurer, Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica S.A., in connection with the negotiation and drafting of a complex and highly bespoke engineering, procurement, and construction contract for the provision of the retubing, refurbishment and related construction works for Unit 1 of the Cernavodă nuclear power plant in Cernavodă, Romania.
• Advising RoPower Nuclear S.A. in connection with the deployment of the NuScale VOYGR-6 power Small Modular Reactor (SMR) generation facility in Doiceşti, Romania.
• Advising the lenders in connection with the financing of a water treatment facility at Content in St. Catherine, Jamaica, being procured by the National Water Commission on a PPP basis.
• Advising a Saudi-based petrochemical company on project development and finance-related matters in connection with the development and operation of aspects of its petrochemical refinery and related facilities in Rabigh, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as on the implementation of a carbon capture project at the refinery site.
• Advising a UAE utilities major on the negotiation and drafting of an electricity supply agreement between two of its subsidiaries for the provision and sale of excess electricity production at an existing aluminium smelter and a desalination plant located at its complex at Jebel Ali in the Emirate of Dubai, and advising on a long term gas sales agreements and power tolling agreement with Emirates Water & Electricity Company (EWEC).
• Advising a regulatory body in the United Arab Emirates in relation to the issuance of a licence for the operation of four nuclear reactor units, including advising on project documentation and overall project structure in the context of local nuclear laws and international laws and treaties relative to the nuclear sector.
• Advising ADSSC on various aspects of its Strategic Tunnel Enhancement Programme (STEP) wastewater mega-project, including on a complex, high-value construction-related dispute.
• Advising a Government of Dubai Authority in relation to the procurement process for the development of district cooling projects within Dubai.
• Advising the Government of Namibia in connection with the development of aspects of its PPP programme and on the procurement of a solar PV project as a model for Namibian municipalities and regional authorities to procure small scale solar PV IPPs.
• Advising the Government of Zambia in connection with the procurement and implementation on a PPP basis of two hydroelectric projects and a biomass project in the Republic of Zambia.
• Advising a major developer in connection with the implementation and development of an LNG storage facility in Sardinia, Italy.
• Advising the sponsors and the project company, ElectroGas Malta Limited, in connection with the structuring, implementation and project financing of the Delimara 4 LNG-to-Power build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) project involving the development and construction of an LNG floating storage, regasification and IPP power generation facility in Malta.
• Advising the Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) (now demerged to become EWEC and the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy) on aspects of the Mirfa IWPP in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
• Advising ADWEA and its then affiliate ADSSC in connection with the structuring and implementation of two wastewater BOOT projects for the development and construction by two separate special purpose vehicles of four new sewage treatment plants at Al Wathba and Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (the ISTP1 Project and the ISTP2 Project).
• Advising ADWEA, its then affiliate ADSSC and the 60% ADWEA-owned project company in relation to the implementation of a rescheduling of the delivery and commissioning of the Allahamah wastewater treatment plant in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and subsequently advising the project company on the refinancing of the ISTP2 Project.
• Advising a UK-based oil and gas major on the acquisition of an interest in an offshore oil and gas reserve located off the Côte d’Ivoire.
• Advising a major Abu Dhabi government-owned entity on its proposed bid for a generating asset in Oman and in relation to the auction of certain power assets in Pakistan.

• Recommended for United Arab Emirates: Commercial, Corporate and M&A (2022-2023) and United Arab Emirates: Infrastructure and Projects (Including Project Finance) (2024) in Legal 500 EMEA

• Law Society of England & Wales