Extractive Industries: Mining & Mineral Processing, Oil & Gas

Global demand for energy and natural resources is on the rise. But this growth has been matched by increased government oversight and stepped-up efforts by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and plaintiffs’ counsel to increase stringency of regulatory standards, block new projects or stall existing operations; and to pursue litigation relating to alleged environmental damage, toxic tort and similar claims in the United States and internationally.

Mining & Mineral Processing

The Extractive Industries team at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP helps clients develop and implement sophisticated strategies to successfully achieve business objectives and manage the many commercial and legal challenges they face domestically and abroad. For more than 30 years, our regulatory lawyers and seasoned litigators have represented domestic and international companies and industry associations throughout North America, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and Africa engaged in the extraction and processing of a broad range of materials, including coal, cobalt, copper, phosphates, zinc and other minerals. We also counsel mining enterprises and bulk chemical companies whose products — such as sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid and ammonia — are key ingredients in the processing of ores, minerals and other natural resources such as crude oil and natural gas, and in the production of commodities critical to the global economy including energy generation, electronics & electrical transmission, and chemical fertilizers and crop protection products.

Oil and Gas Experience

Our environmental team has achieved great success over the years on behalf of our clients in the energy industry. With a team of technical experts, former agency officials and in- house professionals, we understand the interplay of business demand and legal constraints. We help our clients navigate each segment of the oil and gas industry from exploration and production to refining, transportation and service and supply. With our decades of experience, we maintain a substantial national practice advising and representing numerous oil and gas production and transportation companies across the US on virtually all types of environmental, regulatory compliance and enforcement defense issues involving the design, siting, construction, testing, operation, maintenance, and integrity management of oil and gas projects and facilities. Our extractive industries team also has oil and gas experience around the globe, from Africa and Asia to Latin America and the Middle East.

With an eye toward the long-term effects of each decision, we advise clients at every step of the product lifecycle, from mining and processing to distribution and marketing. In the area of permitting, for example, we help clients build a record capable of withstanding future challenges under a broad range of laws, regulations, treaties and standards impacting their domestic and international operations. We also help clients develop mitigation plans to minimize challenges and legal exposure related to their operations, projects and M&A transactions, and to ensure that well-intended but unnecessary information does not enter the record, where it may be used by opponents in litigation and appeals.

Import/export issues and legal exposure related to cross- border natural resource development or M&A activity also represent key areas of concern for this global industry. We provide comprehensive counsel on the full range of issues that affect the movement of materials across borders and overseas, from construction and permitting of processing facilities and distribution terminals to compliance with inland and coastal waterways protections. In the western United States, for example, we counsel clients on tribal law where operations and facilities are located on Indian lands. Internationally, we perform due diligence for large-scale development project and M&A transactions including assessing environmental and toxic tort legal exposure, interface with local counsel in foreign jurisdictions to pursue necessary governmental approvals, and defend any ensuing litigation or governmental enforcement proceedings related to such operations. Our environmental lawyers often work closely with the firm’s corporate and finance team to provide comprehensive transactional due diligence services, and to structure and negotiate the terms of M&A deals, project finance, debt finance and other lending transactions with banks, investors and creditors.

Our rankings speak volumes. Hunton Andrews Kurth was named the 2017 and 2021 Chambers USA Environment Law Firm of the Year. Our environmental practice, and many of our lawyers, are ranked Band 1 nationally by Chambers USA and Chambers Global. We maintain the top national ranking for environmental law and water law―and regionally in each state where our team lawyers are based―in US News-Best Lawyers. We are top-ranked by Legal 500, and since 2012, we have been designated an Environmental Group of the Year by Law360 nine times. When legal challenges arise, whether from counterparties, individuals, NGOs, domestic or international plaintiffs’ counsel, state agencies and attorneys general, federal agencies or the US Department of Justice, we draw on our skilled trial and appellate lawyers, and a network of technical, governmental affairs, public and media relations experts and local counsel, to mount a strong defense of our clients’ interests. We have successfully argued cases in jurisdictions from coast to coast and at every level of federal and state trial and appellate courts, and assisted clients on projects and transactions across the globe.

Similarly, Hunton Andrews Kurth’s dynamic energy and infrastructure practice began advising electric utility companies and railroads as early as 1901. Over the years, our practice has grown to meet the needs of this key economic sector and is today ranked among the top energy and infrastructure teams worldwide. With more than 100 corporate, project finance, lending, environmental, litigation, regulatory and tax partners practicing from our offices across the United States and in Europe and Asia, the firm consistently receives top-tier rankings by leading legal and industry publications such as Chambers USA and Chambers Global. Our accolades include several recent “Deal of the Year” awards from leading publications, including International Financial Law Review (IFLR), Project Finance magazine (PFM) and Project Finance International (PFI), among others.