John has extensive experience advising clients in the energy sector, including in-house experience at a major oil company. He works closely with energy and cleantech clients to provide effective strategic and legal advice on their corporate commercial matters. John has considerable experience with large energy construction and infrastructure projects, cleantech development and deployment projects, acquisitions and divestitures, pipeline transportation and operational matters. In addition to advising on transactions, John works with our advisors to help energy clients develop their climate change strategy to achieve their compliance requirements as economically as possible. He works with cleantech solution providers and emitters to assess and quantify GHG emission reduction opportunities and where possible, develop an emission reduction project that will monetize emission reductions using emissions trading. He also works with clients to develop their renewable and alternative energy projects.

As a leading climate change and cleantech practitioner, John has advised on three of Alberta’s first carbon capture and sequestration projects and has co-authored a report for Alberta Economic Development Authority on Enhanced Oil Recovery in Carbon Capture and Storage. He is currently working on a leading-edge renewable fuel project that upon completion, will become one of the largest emission reduction projects in the history of Alberta, generating over 2 million tonnes of GHG emission reductions annually.

Experience

​Renewable and Alternative Energy

• Confidential Client
  • Drafting and negotiating GHG offset, renewable energy and ethanol off-take agreement for 260 million litres/year ethanol facility
• Perimeter Solar
  • Acting for project developer in the disposition of an interest in a 130 MW solar project
• Doef’s Greenhouses
  • Acting for greenhouse owner on a “closed-loop” power/heat/CO2 project involving the installation of a co-generation facility to generate behind the fence electricity, heat and CO2 for its greenhouses to reduce energy costs and utilize the CO2 captured from the gas-fired generation to enhance the growth of its vegetable crops, including drafting and negotiating development and energy off-take agreements.
• Confidential Client
  • Advising on strategy for monetizing carbon offsets in connection with a new renewable fuel plant
• Enbridge
  • Counsel on acquisition of 300 MW Greengate Power Blackstone Ridge Project
• Confidential Client
  • Counselling to wind and run-of-river power producer on lease acquisitions, land and water permitting, offset ownership and offset project development
• Terra Verde Capital
  • Advising on the development of the rooftop solar project

​​Cleantech ​​

• CleanO2
  • Advising on all commercial agreements relating to the development and deployment of the world’s first small-scale carbon capture and waste heat utilization technology for commercial, institutional and multi-residential buildings.
• CleanO2
  • Providing strategic business advice on scale-up funding, including negotiating terms sheets with funders, as well as advising on piloting and commercialization agreements.​​
• Eco-Growth
  • Advising on financing and deployment of disruptive emission reduction technology using carbon offsets and commodity futures trading
    TriCore Carbon Solutions: Drafting and negotiation of agreements for the deployment of new solar-powered methane emission reduction technology including project development agreement, equipment lease agreement and emission reduction purchase and sale agreements
    Terra Verde Capital: Advising on the development of the rooftop solar project
• Confidential Client
  • Clean technology licensing and pilot project for new modular oil upgrading technology
• Stella Power
  • Advising on the development and commercialization of a disruptive new solar power technology

Climate Change and Emissions Trading

• Capital Power
  • Counselling on GHG emission reduction projects involving new clean technology applications and on emission reduction purchase and sale agreements under the Alberta Climate Change regulations.
• Repsol Canada
  • Advising on a GHG emission reduction project utilizing new technology and processes for the reduction of methane emissions.
• Syncrude
  • Advising on the purchase of Renewable Fuel Compliance Units under the Renewable Fuels Regulation.
• Carbon Credit Solutions
  • Advising on emission offset sale transactions and offset aggregation agreement
• Agrium
  • Advising on CO2 purchase and sale agreement.
• North American Climate Exchange
  • Counselling on the development and regulatory approval of Alberta’s first climate exchange
• North American Climate Exchange
  • Drafting Transaction Services Agreement and standard form emission reduction purchase and sale agreement
• ARC Resources
  • Advising on CO2 enhanced oil recovery pilot project
• PennWest Petroleum
  • Advising on CO2 enhanced oil recovery pilot project

Midstream

• PetroChina
  • Advising on pipeline capacity sale agreement
• Inter Pipeline
  • Advising on GHG emission reduction aspects of a propane supply agreement
• Enbridge
  • Counsel on an acquisition of major midstream and gas processing facility from EnCana
• Nexen
  • Advising on pipeline construction agreement for Long Lake facility
• Suncor
  • Advising on a pipeline sale agreement
• Alliance Pipeline
  • Advising on issues relating to liquids extraction in transportation agreements

Upstream Projects and Transactions

• Confidential Client
  • Acquisition of approximately $400 million of oil and gas assets for purpose of new CO2 enhanced oil recovery project utilizing innovative alternative energy plants for the production of zero-GHG emission energy and incremental oil from mature reservoirs
• Statoil
  • Drafting and negotiation of the sale of oil sands assets and aerodrome facility
• BP Canada Energy
  • Advising on the sale of US$3.25 billion of assets to Apache Corporation and its affiliates
• BP Canada Energy
  • Advising on the CA$650 million sales to Devon NEC Corporation of a 50% interest in its Pike oilsands properties and its subsequent joint venture agreement to develop these properties with Devon Energy
• Sasol Petroleum International
  • Advising on its CA$1.05 billion agreement to acquire from Talisman Energy a 50 percent stake in their Farrell Creek shale gas assets located in B.C.’s Montney basin

​Project Construction and Procurement​

• Enhance Energy
  • Counselling on EPCM Agreement for the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line
• Statoil Canada
  • Counselling on EPC Agreement and procurement contracts for its Leismer Oil Sands facility expansion
• Statoil Canada
  • Drafting and negotiation of master drilling agreements and procurement agreements for project expansion
• CNRL
  • Advising on EPC and EPCM for Secondary Upgrader at Horizon Oil Sands Project

Publications

John presents and publishes articles frequently and was featured on the cover of Lexpert Magazine as one of Canada’s leading cleantech lawyers. He’s been quoted on several occasions in the National Post, Lexpert and Oilweek Magazine.