Guillaume P. Blanc is an Executive at ENS in the Project Development and Project Finance practice. He specialises in project acquisition, development and finance, as well as energy, utilities, mining and petroleum law.

Guillaume has gained more than 20 years of experience in law firms in Africa (South Africa and Mauritius), Europe (London and Paris) and the Asia-Pacific (Sydney, Perth, and a secondment in Shanghai).

He has advised clients in developing markets on the acquisition, financing and development of energy, water, oil, gas and mining projects across many jurisdictions, in particular:

• Latin America (French Guiana, Brazil)
• Europe (France, Spain and Luxemburg)
• Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Guinea, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, DRC, Burundi, Djibouti, Madagascar, Angola, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe); and
• the Asia-Pacific area (China, Mongolia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia).

Guillaume’s energy and natural resources law experience includes advising clients on the legislative and regulatory framework and permitting process relevant to corporate and property acquisitions relating to energy and natural resources, conducting acquisition due diligence investigations in respect of energy, oil and gas and mineral companies, properties, tenements and assets, advising on exploration and production agreements, production and supply agreements, off-take agreements, and/or other contractual matters.

His project acquisition, development and finance experience includes acquisition due diligence investigations in respect of project companies or project assets, project structuring, project-related regulatory and legislative advice, project sponsorship, ownership and financing, project finance, project development and procurement. His experience covers the following phases of the project acquisition, development and financing lifecycle:

• advising on project acquisition, ownership and development
• completing acquisition due diligence investigations in respect of project companies, project assets, properties and tenements, including providing legal opinions and title reports
• drafting, negotiating and managing government support and participation structures, investment incentives and permitting/regulatory processes and applications
• drafting, negotiating, reviewing and amending project development agreements (including concessions, joint-development or production agreements, joint-operating agreements, off-take agreements, and exiting agreements)
• drafting, negotiating, reviewing and amending financing agreements, including loan agreements, project finance lending agreements, sponsor support and security packages.

Guillaume has acted as legal counsel to project owners, sponsors and lenders. In addition, he has advised governments (China, Vietnam and Morocco) and international development institutions (the World Bank, AusAID, CIDA, ABD and the EU) on the reform of mineral/energy legislation and public administrations, as well as on the privatisation of state-owned oil, electricity or water production and distribution operators (Morocco, Gabon, Burundi, Cameroon and Djibouti).

Guillaume is a member of the mining law and oil and gas sections of the International Bar Association.

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree  in Private Law  (with Honours) (University of Paris II – Assas, France)
• Bachelor’s Degree (Political Science) (with Honours) (University of  Bordeaux-I-IEP, France)
• Master’s Degree (Business Law) (University of Paris – II, France)
• Postgraduate Degree (D.E.S.S) (with Honours) (International Business Law) (University of Rennes I – France)
• English Law and Common Law Program (BPP Professional School, College of Law, London, UK)
• LLM (University of Melbourne)
• BA (University of Bordeaux III, France)
• MA (with High Honours) (University of Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne, France)
• Postgraduate Degree Arts (with High Honours) (University Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne, France)
• Solicitor of the Senior Courts Of England And Wales (UK)
• Barrister ("Avocat") admitted to the Bar of Paris (France)
• Registered Foreign Lawyer (Attorney General’s Office, Mauritius)
• Registered Foreign Lawyer (Legal Practice Board Of Western Australia)

Guillaume is recognised as a leading/recommended lawyer by:

• Who’s Who Legal 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 – Mining (Mauritius)