Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Silk Road Fund on the acquisition of an approximate 9.9% stake in Russia's key new liquefied natural gas (LNG) project based in South Tambeyskoye gas field from Novatek, Russia's largest independent natural gas producer, for EUR1,087 million.

The Yamal LNG project involves the exploration and exploitation of the South Tambeyskoye field in the Yamal peninsula in northwest Siberia, the construction and operation of an LNG liquefaction plant, and a port to transport gas to the market.

Novatek retains a 50.1% interest, and Total and China National Oil & Gas Exploration and Development Corporation are the other co-investors.

The deal signed on 12 December 2015 and closed on 15 March 2016 following approvals from the Chinese and Russian governments, and is structured as a combination of both an equity investment and a 15-year loan financing, which closed in December.

The firm's cross-office corporate team was led by partners Monica Sun (Beijing) and Danila Logofet (Moscow). "We are delighted to have assisted Silk Road Fund in signing and closing its first oil and gas M&A transaction. We see a tremendous opportunity for the firm in working with this exciting new client on further projects," said Monica.

"This transaction highlights the depth and quality of our global network, as well as our ability to leverage our past deal experience to achieve a fantastic result for our client," added Danila.

The Silk Road Fund is a US$40 billion development and investment fund established in December 2014 by the Chinese government to improve the country's connectivity with the wider region, including Central Asia and Europe.

Lawyers around the Herbert Smith Freehills network supported the Beijing-Moscow corporate team, including those in Beijing, Frankfurt, London and Moscow. Local advice was provided by the firm's alliance partner Prolegis in Singapore and by Michael Kyprianou & Co LLC in Cyprus.