Top lawyers hired for Maui deals

Press, 26 December 1979, Page 2

Top lawyers hired for Maui deals

PA Wellington Overseas lawyers have been engaged by the Government to draw up the Maui liquid-fuel-project contracts to avoid another "€OOl3llO debacle” with multi-national companies, according to the Minister of Energv (Mr Birch >. He >atd international lawvers experienced in dealing with multi-na’ionat companies were acting as Government adviser* tn the multi-rii'lion-dollar contract negotiations. The specialists had been engaged to avoid a repetition of the difficulties which had arisen in 1977 with the owners of the Bluff aluminium smelter over the Manapour' power agreement. In that instance, a row erupted between the Government and Comalco when the Government decided that the e'ectricitv pricing provisions in the 1960-. contract needed renegotiating. The Government threaten cd to pass legislation unless th* company agreed to pay considerable more for its

power. Comalco. in turn, threatened to close the smelter if the charges were too high. A compromise was reached but not before Japanese interests in the smelter hid reportedly threatened to sue for breach of contract. Critics said at the time that New Zealand had been caught "green” when di awing up the original contract with the multi-national companies. Mr Birch said mtei national business lawyers had not been used as Government advisers for the Comalco agreement. But for the Maui project the best legal advice in the world was being sought. The mam liquid-fuel contracts which should be finalised by the middle of next year are for a “stand alone” Methanol plant and synthetic, petrol plant together costing about 8600 million. The multi-national companies. involved will include oil comnanies. most notably Mobil and BP and big interna'innal engineering inter-