Alexander V. Marchenko

Senior Counsel

Alexander V. Marchenko focuses his practice on upstream oil and gas, mining, and metals and advises clients throughout their corporate transactions. A native Russian speaker who also is fluent in English, Alexander counsels clients on onshore and offshore acquisitions and divestitures of exploration and production assets, including financing and parent guarantees; due diligence investigations; negotiating relevant sale-and-purchase; and underlying regulatory advice. Alexander is admitted in Russia only, and his practice is supervised by England and Wales Bar members.

Alexander’s clients, which consist of some of the world’s leading utility companies and gas producers, turn to him to help them manage joint ventures, acquisitions, and divestitures. He often works with companies seeking international partnerships and he advises US, European, and Asian energy clients on cross-border ventures.

While the bulk of his practice focuses on oil and gas, Alexander has a wide range of experience representing clients in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), bankruptcy, public offerings, and general corporate and commercial matters in other business sectors. His experience includes counseling major corporations on multibillion-dollar acquisitions.

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  • Asian oil and gas major company in connection with negotiations with the government of a Central Asian country on a new risk service contract for the exploration, development, production, and transportation of gas from a major gas field, as well as a financial audit of its activity as operator of an existing production sharing agreement conducted by the host government in a Central Asian country
  • A major European insurance conglomerate in connection with the selling of its various Russian businesses, including a full-service insurance company, a trade credit insurance company, and various auxiliary insurance business units, to a strategic partner and to own management
  • An Asian industrial conglomerate in connection with its proposed acquisition of an independent producer of heating and air conditioning equipment with respect to Russian sanctions, counter-sanctions, and general due diligence matters
  • A major Asian national oil and gas company in connection with Russian offshore subsoil license extension and reissuance issues raised in the course of the audit conducted by the client’s domestic government fiscal agencies focusing on the writing off of sunk exploration costs
  • A Trans-Caucasian state oil and gas company in connection with a proposed acquisition of a network of fuel stations and related downstream assets in an Eastern European country from a private commercial and energy group
  • Middle Eastern independent oil and gas company in its efforts to secure extension of its production sharing agreement in a Central Asian country, as well as assistance with host government financial audit
  • Asian oil and gas major on proposed acquisition of strategic minority stake in substantial oil and gas field clusters controlled by a leading Russian national oil company
  • Asian national oil and gas company in its operational restructuring efforts in connection with its production sharing agreement concluded with a Central Asian nation
  • Russian major in a substantial upstream joint venture project with Mubadala Petroleum of Abu Dhabi and Russia Direct Investment Fund, covering a group of producing fields in Siberia
  • State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) in the successful negotiation and signing with the BP-led consortium of international oil companies of an amended and restated ACG offshore fields production sharing agreement and related contracts for this super-giant project in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea; there have been over $30 billion in investment by the consortium and over 3 billion barrels of oil produced to date, and the PSA term is now extended to 2050
  • Leading multinational energy company on a proposed large-scale oil, gas, and condensate exploration and production development project with Rosneft covering two fields in Russia’s far north and two similar projects with Kazmunaygas and with Chinese energy company in Kazakhstan
  • OMV of Austria in its proposed large new joint venture with Gazprom and Wintershall to develop deep Achimov horizons of the large Urengoi field in the Yamal-Nenets region of Russia’s far north
  • VTB in connection with a loan to two Chinese energy companies investing in a new joint venture with Gazpromneft to develop a group of onshore fields in Eastern Siberia
  • Statoil (now Equinor) in a large-scale E&P venture with Rosneft involving offshore blocks in the Barents and Okhotsk Seas
  • Statoil in the major Shtokman offshore gas field development and liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, together with a Russian major and Total, in the Russian sector of the Barents Sea
  • Gazpromneft on its proposed E&P venture with Shell, to encompass joint development of two offshore Russian Arctic blocks and other upstream assets outside of Russia
  • Major French state power and utilities company in its proposed farm-in into one of Russia's major LNG projects
  • Bashneft (and its controlling shareholder AFK Sistema) in the formation of its joint venture with Lukoil to develop the large Trebs-Titov field complex in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug; follow-up advice on the subsoil licensing issues of the joint venture
  • Chevron in a proposed large-scale E&P venture with Rosneft to develop a deepwater Russian Black Sea block
  • Eni SpA in various aspects of its $5.8 billion acquisition at the 2007 Yukos assets bankruptcy auction of three gas and condensate producing companies in Russia and a 20% stake in Gazpromneft, follow-up support of this acquisition to date, and the 2009 sale of the Gazpromneft stake to Gazprom for $4.2 billion
  • Major Asian national oil and gas company in its responsive action to trade sanctions impeding the performance of a pre-agreed drilling contract
  • Major Asian commodity and manufacturing company on legal issues in connection with joining a consortium of investors into Russian new offshore oil and gas fields
  • Japanese conglomerate in proposed acquisition of strategic minority stake in a northern Russia oil field
  • Prominent Asian direct investment fund in its administrative and legal proceedings related to obtaining mineral extraction rights in Siberia; further assistance on Russian corporate and regulatory matters
  • Joint venture of the Russian and Kazakhstan national oil and gas companies on the legal issues pertaining to the proposed spinoff of a significant gas processing operation
  • Lundin Petroleum in all aspects of its proposed venture with Rosneft to develop the Lagansky block in the Russian sector of the Caspian Sea (suspended)
  • Russian oil and gas company on a proposed joint venture with an Asian energy company partner involving an East Siberia field, including preparation of participants agreement and foundation documents under Russian law
  • Itera, one of Russia’s leading independent gas producers, in its proposed strategic joint venture with a major Russian oil and gas company and on the subsequent sale of its 49% share in the joint venture company to Rosneft for $2.9 billion
  • ArcelorMittal in its $720 million acquisition of a group of Eastern Siberia coal assets companies from Severstal of Russia
  • Various clients in preparation of various types of petroleum contracts with the Turkmenistan government. This work included assisting a major European company, a major Asian company, and various other companies in the drafting of their production-sharing agreements for various Turkmen fields, advising in other types of petroleum contracts in Turkmenistan, and advising in various ancillary matters
  • Various clients (in mineral resource and other sectors) on the Russian laws restricting foreign investment in "strategic enterprises"
  • Extensive due diligence investigations into production companies and other corporate structures in Russia
  • Moscow State Law Academy, Russia, 2000
  • Moscow State Linguistic University, Russia, 1994, with honors
  • University of Toronto, Canada, 2002, LL.M.
  • Russia (Qualified)

Lawyer of the Year, Energy and Natural Resources Law, Moscow, The Best Lawyers in Russia (2022)

Recognized, Energy and Natural Resources Law, Moscow, The Best Lawyers in Russia (2020–2022)

Highly Regarded, M&A, Project development: Mining, Russia, IFLR1000 EMEA (2021, 2022)

Next Generation Partner, Energy and Natural Resources, Russia, The Legal 500 EMEA (2019–2021)

Ranked, Energy & Natural Resources, Russia, Chambers Europe (2012–2018, 2021)

Ranked, Energy & Natural Resources, Russia, Chambers Global (2012–2021)

Highly Regarded, IFLR1000 Financial and Corporate (2018–2021)

Recommended, Natural Resources/Energy, Pravo.ru-300 (2020)

Recommended, The Legal 500 EMEA (2017)

Member, Practice Group of the Year, Energy, Law360 (2016)