Biography
Nathan Santamaria is a specialist in project development and financing of energy and infrastructure assets across the Americas. Nathan represents the full spectrum of project transaction parties, including sponsors, developers, contractors and lenders. He has the rare experience of having successfully lead negotiations on both large-scale project engineering, procurement and construction contracts (EPCs), as well as multi-billion dollar syndicated limited recourse financings ultimately funding a project’s construction. Nathan has particular expertise negotiating project development and commercial documentation, including, in addition to scores of EPCs, other construction arrangements (such as GMP and cost plus structures), operations and maintenance agreements, supply and offtake contracts, and project RFP processes. Nathan’s project financing experience includes Term Loan A syndicated limited recourse project financings and Section 4(a)2 private placements for power projects, fuel storage terminals, a utility water supply project and major transport infrastructure. He is active in the solar, wind and renewable fuels sectors, the LNG industry (liquefaction and regasification), and conventional power and pipeline transactions.
Professional Experience
- Principal, Mercer Thompson LLC, April 2021 – Present
- Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, April 2019 – April 2021
- Senior Associate, Linklaters LLP, May 2013 – April 2019
- Associate, Squire Patton Boggs LLP, January 2010 – April 2013
Representative Transactions
- Represented a large U.S. based renewables developer in all aspects of its development of numerous utility-scale solar PV projects, including MSAs, pre-construction services agreements, and EPCs.
- Represented a global tech-driven large-scale residential and commercial construction contractor in the restructuring of its design-build construction portfolio and its internal operations.
- Represented a large US-based industrial food processor in the on-balance sheet financing and design-build arrangements of an expansion to its processing facilities.
- Represented a sponsor consortium comprised of Vinci Airports, Aeroports de Paris and Astaldi in the EPC and project financing for the $800 million expansion and renovation of the Nuevo Pudahuel International Airport in Santiago.
- Led a consortium of sponsors in the negotiation of all of the commercial documentation and financial structuring of a multi-phased LNG-to-power project in Chile, including a 700MW CCGT power plant, onshore and offshore pipelines, an offshore floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), and multiple LNG sale and purchase agreements.
- Represented the collateral agent in the refinancing of a municipal renewable energy steam and gas system.
- Represented a private equity fund and its portfolio company in the structuring and negotiation of three Section 4(a)(2) private placement bond offerings in relation to a water production facility, secured by a long-term water supply contract with a major US city utility.
- Represented the sponsors in the construction phase restructuring of a nearly 400 MW wind farm in Oaxaca, Mexico.
- Represented a private equity portfolio company in the construction and development of a liquids storage facility in Tuxpan, Mexico.
- Represented the syndicated lenders in the $250 million project financing of a liquid fuels marine terminal in Corpus Christi, Texas.
- Represented a major international oil and gas company in its negotiation of LNG offtake arrangements from a liquefaction facility located on the U.S. Gulf coast.
- Represented the mandated lead arranger Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and its syndicate in the 175 MW Cabo Leones III wind farm in northern Chile.
- Represented the project sponsors EDF-EN and Ibereolica in the structuring, negotiation and project financing of the 115.5 MW Cabo Leones I wind farm in northern Chile.
- Represented a financial sponsor in the acquisition of distressed debt in the 530MW Alto Maipo hydroelectric power plant during its stalled construction phase.
- Represented the project sponsors EDF-EN and Andes Mining and Energy in the structuring and project financing of the 115 MW Santiago Solar PV power plant in central Chile.
- Represented Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets in the development and structuring of EPC and O&M arrangements in connection with a 320 MW portfolio of PV power projects.
- Represented a private equity fund in its bid structuring and due diligence for a crude oil floating production system (FPS) to be located in the U.S. Gulf Coast, including due diligence of a production handling agreement, project financing arrangements of $800 million and EPC arrangements for the FPS.
- Represented a major international container shipping company in the development and sale of a container terminal/liquid fuels terminal in Tuxpan, Mexico.
- Represented Red Eléctrica S.A. in an equity guarantee and sponsor participation alongside its Chilean subsidiary in the $900 million project financing of the 600km North-Central Transmisora Electrica del Norte “TEN” transmission line.
- Represented a major Asian conglomerate in its successful $1.3 billion acquisition of Transelec, operator of 98% of Chile’s electric transmission assets and a substantial portion of Peru’s transmission infrastructure, from Brookfield.
- Represented an Australian based investment bank in its bid to take assignment of limited recourse project finance debt from a major coal-fired power project in the USA.
- Represented L1 Energy in the successful bid and $6 billion RBL acquisition financing of upstream oil and gas company RWE Dea.
- Represented lenders HSBC and BNPP in the $250 million untied SACE-backed commercial loan facility to PEMEX.
- Represented lenders Santander and ABN Amro in the $295 million untied SACE-backed commercial loan facility to Braskem. Represented Repsol in the $6B sale of Repsol’s LNG business to Shell, including the restructuring and disposition of Peru LNG
- Represented GDF Suez in the $800 million EPC contract for the Los Ramones II (Sur) natural gas pipeline system.
- Represented First Solar in the acquisition, development and commercial contract arrangements (EPC and O&M) for over a dozen utility scale photovoltaic project sites across the United States and Latin America.
Honors and Other Distinctions
- The Legal 500 United States 2020, Project Finance, Energy: Renewable/Alternative Power
- Associate-to-watch, Chambers & Partners 2019, Energy & Natural Resources – Latin America-wide