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Kaam Sahely
Kaam Sahely
Partner — Energy Transactions & Projects
Partner — Energy Transactions & Projects

Kaam Sahely

Kaam Sahely
Austin

200 West 6th Street
Suite 2500
Austin, Texas 78701

Houston

Texas Tower
845 Texas Avenue
Suite 4700
Houston, Texas 77002

start quote symbolI’m really motivated by the development – and purchase and sale – of groundbreaking projects, whether it's a project to unlock the largest known lithium and boron deposit in North America, complex infrastructure or a cutting edge renewables project. My focus is on the big picture and finding legal solutions to the critical business issues. I’m proud to work on tangible assets that people get to live with and benefit from for a long time after a deal is complete.end quote symbol
Kaam Sahely

Energy Transition

  • Stonepeak in its approximately $3 billion acquisition of a 50% interest in the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, which at 2.6 GW is expected to be the largest offshore wind project in the U.S. and one of the largest offshore wind projects globally upon completion (pending)

  • Global Infrastructure Partners in its $1.1 billion acquisition of a 50 percent interest in the South Fork and Revolution Offshore Wind Projects from Eversource Energy, including the negotiation of the joint venture arrangements with Orsted for the construction and operation of the projects, and the acquisition and construction financing in connection with GIP’s ownership in the projects (pending)

  • MN8 Energy, a leading renewable energy and battery storage owner-operator in the US, in its agreement with Mercedes-Benz to deliver an open network of branded high-power charging stations in North America

  • Brookfield Renewable Power in the approximately $1 billion acquisition of Scout Clean Energy from Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners

  • Carlyle in its $350 million investment in Aspen Power Partners, a distributed generation platform with the mission of accelerating decarbonization

  • MN8 Energy (Goldman Sachs Renewable Power) in the establishment of a financing partnership with ChargePoint (NYSE: CHPT) to reduce upfront costs of EV charging technology

  • 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

  • MN8 Energy (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

  • Woodside Energy Group Ltd on a range of matters including:

    • its merger with BHP Petroleum with an approximately US $43 billion merged entity value and concurrent listing of American Depositary Shares (ADSs) on the NYSE
    • 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
  • ioneer Ltd. in the formation of a 50/50 joint venture with Sibanye Stillwater to develop the flagship Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project located in Nevada and related development and financing matters

  • Gulf Coast Ammonia as project counsel in the development and financing of a world-scale ammonia project in Texas, including the negotiation of a $574.3 million debt package from a consortium of nine commercial banks (Proximo’s 2019 North American Petrochemicals Deal of the Year)

  • Project counsel to the Arkansas GTL Project, a $3.5 billion landmark gas-to-liquids project in Arkansas

  • Chevron Phillips Chemical Company in connection with a joint venture with QatarEnergy to develop an $8.5 billion integrated polymers facility in Orange, Texas

  • 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

  • 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
    • MN8 Energy (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 in a range of transactions, including:

    • Investment in the San Antonio Spurs NBA franchise
    • 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; Projects: Power & Renewables (Transactional) (USA), 2022–2024
  • Chambers USA, Projects, 2015; Projects: Power & Renewables (Transactional)(Nationwide), 2020–2023
  • Legal 500 U.S., Energy: Transactions: Conventional Power, 2019–2022, “Next Generation Lawyer” in Energy: Transactions: Conventional Power, 2019 and 2020; “Next Generation Partner” in Energy: Transactions: Conventional Power, 2021 and 2022; Real Estate: Construction (Including Construction Litigation), 2012, 2014–2015, and 2017–2023; Finance: Project Finance, 2012–2015 and 2017–2021; Energy: Renewable/Alternative Power, 2018–2023; Energy: Transactions: Oil & Gas, 2019–2023
  • Law360, MVP, Energy, 2022
  • Law360, Rising Star, Energy, 2014
  • Who’s Who Legal (Law Business Research Ltd.), Private Funds, 2016; Energy: Power/Electricity, 2022; Energy: Renewables, 2022
  • IFLR1000, 2020–2023
  • Selected to the 500 Leading Lawyers in America, Lawdragon, 2023 and 2024
  • Selected to the 500 Leading Energy Lawyers, Lawdragon, 2023 and 2024
  • Adjunct Lecturer, Carey Law School and The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (January 2021–Present)
  • Member: Law Society of England and Wales; State Bar of Texas
  • Victoria (Australia)
  • England and Wales
  • Texas
  • Arabic (conversational)
  • “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)