
Kaam Sahely

1001 Fannin Street
Suite 2500
Houston, TX 77002





Kaam represents investors, developers and other participants in complex infrastructure and energy investments and projects.
In particular, Kaam has deep experience in renewable and sustainable energy assets, power generation, traditional hydrocarbons and infrastructure assets. Kaam has a market leading renewables practice representing a number of the key investors in the U.S. and extensive experience developing large scale infrastructure projects. Kaam is ranked by Chambers USA as a Band 1 lawyer nationally in Projects: Power & Renewables.
Kaam is co-head of the Energy, Infrastructure and Projects practice group.
Clean Energy & Renewables
The Carlyle Group in a USD $374 million investment in Amp Solar Group, a global energy transition platform, to support the growth of both Amp’s asset base and Amp X, a proprietary digital energy platform, within its core markets of North America, Japan, Australia, Iberia and the UK
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) and its Renewable and Sustainable Energy Fund, through its affiliate Acadia Renewable Energy, in the acquisition of a portfolio of eight solar projects in Maine from BNRG representing over $130 million of capital investment, including the related construction and permanent debt financing with HSBC Bank USA, as Lead Arranger, to develop, construct and operate the portfolio
Goldman Sachs Renewable Power Fund as counsel to its $4 billion renewable energy fund, including in connection with (i) its approximately $350 million acquisition from Marina Energy, a subsidiary of Southern Jersey Industries, of its solar portfolio comprised of 76 distributed solar energy projects with total capacity of 204 MW, (ii) its acquisition of a 142 MW portfolio of solar power generation assets from a subsidiary of Macquarie Infrastructure Corporation and (iii) a range of other ongoing acquisition, financing and transactional matters
Goldman Sachs’ Alternative Energy Investing Group in the formation of a joint venture with TELOS Clean Energy to develop, construct, own, and operate distributed solar power projects
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Fund of The Carlyle Group in the formation of a joint venture with Alchemy Renewable Energy, LLC (ARE), a renewable energy developer and tax equity arranger, together with the acquisition of certain operating and development-stage solar projects from ARE
Global Atlantic Financial Group in the $1.175 billion acquisition from Southern Power of a 33 percent minority interest in its solar portfolio (comprised of 26 operating solar facilities representing approximately 1.7 gigawatts of capacity)
Private developer as project counsel in all aspects of the development and project financing of a renewable diesel production facility with a nameplate capacity of 100 million gallons annually to be located on the Texas Gulf Coast, including the negotiation of hydrogen supply agreements
A special situations fund in a nearly $1 billion back-levered acquisition (by way of a joint venture) of a portfolio of wind assets from a global conglomerate
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. on a range of equity investments in and financings of commercial and industrial solar projects
A private equity firm in a joint investment with a major bank to purchase a $160 million tax equity position in a portfolio of wind farms
An investment banking and finance company, a multi-insurance company, and a private hedge fund sponsor in a $247.5 million senior secured term loan facility for the benefit of solar project business
An investment banking and brokerage firm in a secured term loan to a series of renewable energy projects
An investment banking firm in its investment in three wind projects, operational matters in connection therewith and the subsequent sale of the same
An investment banking firm on a series of tax equity investments in wind and solar
Gulf Coast Ammonia as project counsel in the development and financing of a world-scale ammonia project in Texas, including a $574.3 million debt package from nine commercial banks
Project counsel to the Arkansas GTL Project, a $3.5 billion landmark gas-to-liquids project in Arkansas
CPChem on its landmark multi-billion dollar petrochemical projects in the United States and Qatar
IFM/Buckeye in connection with its investment in Train 2 of the Freeport LNG project in Freeport, Texas
Macquarie Capital in connection with multiple early stage infrastructure and energy investments and development projects
BlueScope Steel in the proposed expansion of its North Star steel facility, a high-tech mini-mill in Ohio
Texas Central Partners as project counsel in the development of a high speed rail project between Houston and Dallas
Woodside Petroleum Limited on a range of matters including:
- the $440 million acquisition of the assets of ConocoPhillips in Senegal
- its potential participation in the Port Arthur LNG project
- the $3.761 billion acquisition of Apache Corporation’s Wheatstone LNG project and Balnaves oil interests in Australia and Kitimat LNG project interests in Canada
- US law matters
OCI N.V. in a joint venture with Dakota Gasification Company to form N-7 LLC, a jointly owned company that will market, distribute and sell nitrogen fertilizers, industrial ammonia and diesel exhaust fluid in North America
Dyno Nobel Inc. in all aspects of the development of an $850 million anhydrous ammonia plant in Louisiana, one of the first ammonia plants to be built in the United States in twenty years
CenterPoint Properties Trust in all aspects of the development, and $240 million plus sale to Arc Logistics Partners LP and GE Energy Financial Services, of a crude oil unloading terminal in Joliet, Illinois
SemGroup Corporation in connection with commercial product transportation and construction arrangements for the development, ownership and operation of three new pipelines in the U.S. Gulf Coast region of Louisiana, collectively named the Maurepas Pipelines, with a total capital cost of approximately $500 million
A large international energy company in the formation of a 50/50 joint venture and the development of an ethylene cracker with an estimated capacity of 544,000 metric tons/yr (1.2 billion lbs/year); the project is anticipated to have a capital cost of approximately $1.5 billion
A leading pipeline and midstream company in the joint venture, construction, and development arrangements for the approximate $3.5 billion, 465-mile interstate natural gas pipeline stretching from Alabama to Florida
A large international energy company on multi-billion dollar offshore development projects
BHP Billiton on the multibillion dollar Macedon Gas Project in Western Australia
Mubadala Development Company in the $18 billion development and construction aspects of an aluminum smelter (EMAL Aluminium Smelter Project at Al Taweelah in Abu Dhabi); the world’s largest greenfield aluminum smelter
Cameron International Corporation in the structuring and negotiation of a complex joint venture in China to manufacture, market, and distribute all-welded ball valves used in the construction of natural gas pipelines
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (and related parties) in a range of transactions including:
- Special Situations Group in multiple investments (equity, debt and hybrid) in wind, solar, geothermal, energy storage and other alternative energy and industrial projects and companies, refined coal projects, oil and gas and other hydrocarbons and commodities matters
- Goldman Sachs Renewable Power Fund in debt and equity transactions with renewable energy companies
- J. Aron & Company in structured commodity transactions and related matters
- Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Partners in connection with energy infrastructure matters
Sixth Street Partners in a range of transactions, including:
- Multiple acquisitions of wind assets
- Multiple acquisitions of solar assets
- Investments in midstream businesses
- Oil and gas investments
- Debt and equity transactions with fast growing enterprises
TPG Capital and TPG Growth on a range of energy transactions, including TPG Growth on its acquisition of Discovery Midstream, a Dallas-based provider of oil and natural gas gathering and natural gas processing services in the southern portion of Colorado’s Denver-Julesburg Basin
Elliott Management Corporation on a range of energy, industrial, manufacturing and infrastructure industry matters
Wall Street Banks, traders and companies (refiners, other commodity producers) in connection with intermediation, repurchase, bridging and other structured arrangements
Credentials
- Monash University (Australia), B.A., 2000
- Monash University (Australia), LL.B. (Hons), 2002
- Chambers Global, Projects (USA), 2016 and 2017
- Chambers USA, Projects, 2015; Projects: Power & Renewables (Transactional) (Nationwide), 2020
- Legal 500 U.S., “Next Generation Lawyer” in Energy: Transactions – Conventional Power, 2019; Transactions – Conventional Power, 2020; Construction, 2012, 2014–2015, 2017–2020; Project Finance, 2012–2015, 2017–2020; Energy – Renewable/Alternative, 2018-2020; Energy: Transactions – Oil & Gas, 2019 and 2020
- Law360, Rising Star, Energy, 2014
- Who’s Who Legal (Law Business Research Ltd.), Private Funds, 2016
- IFLR1000, 2020
- Member: Law Society of England and Wales; State Bar of Texas; Association of International Petroleum Negotiators; Australian American Chamber of Commerce Energy Committee
- Victoria (Australia)
- England and Wales
- Texas
- Arabic (conversational)
- Deals & CasesJanuary 13, 2021
- Deals & CasesJanuary 6, 2021
- Rankings & AwardsOctober 2, 2020
- Event RecapSeptember 17, 2020
- Deals & CasesAugust 25, 2020
- Press ReleaseAugust 3, 2020
- Event RecapJuly 30, 2020
- V&E+July 22, 2020
- Rankings & AwardsJune 16, 2020
- Rankings & AwardsMay 27, 2020
- Rankings & AwardsApril 23, 2020
- V&E+March 13, 2020
- InsightMarch 12, 2020
- Deals & CasesMarch 11, 2020
- Deals & CasesMarch 3, 2020
- Deals & CasesJanuary 28, 2020
- Deals & CasesJanuary 8, 2020
- Rankings & AwardsOctober 29, 2019
- V&E+August 14, 2019
- Rankings & AwardsMay 30, 2019
- Event RecapNovember 7, 2018
- Deals & CasesOctober 30, 2018
- Deals & CasesAugust 30, 2018
- V&E+August 2, 2018
- V&E+July 26, 2018
- Deals & CasesJune 28, 2018
- Deals & CasesMay 23, 2018
- Deals & CasesMay 21, 2018
- Press ReleaseFebruary 8, 2018
- Deals & CasesJanuary 25, 2017
- “Recent Trends in Renewable Energy Dealmaking,” Energy Series, V&E Houston Office, November 7, 2018 (speaker)
- “Investors – How Is Investment Appetite for PV and Storage Evolving,” Solar Storage Finance USA, October 29, 2018 (panelist)