Orrick Expands Asia Energy Platform with the Hire of Michael Tardif

• Michael Tardif, a Chambers Band 1-ranked project finance advisor with a focus on Indonesia and the Asia region, joins Orrick as a partner in Singapore.
• Michael represents sponsors and lenders in complex financing transactions, including working with PT Pertamina (Persero), Indonesia’s state-owned energy company, and its related companies; top-tier sponsors from Japan, Korea and the Middle East; and key regional multilateral lenders and export-credit agencies such as Asian Development Bank, International Finance Corporation and Japan Bank for International Cooperation. He advises a broad range of industry participants in transactions involving the conventional power, renewable energy, infrastructure and mining sectors across Asia, Australia and the United States.
• Most recently with A&O Shearman in Jakarta, Michael will be based in Orrick’s Singapore office.
• In addition, Ari Bessendorf, who practiced with Michael for the past six years, will join Orrick as a partner in Singapore in September. Ari specializes in cross-border project development and finance for power, renewables and utilities, with deep experience in the solar, wind, biomass and carbon markets. He brings strong expertise in power contracts, particularly related to data center power procurement.
• They join a fast-growing Orrick team in Singapore, which will now have 5 energy & infrastructure partners, and Tokyo focused on project development, finance and M&A for the South and Southeast Asia regions. The team connects with Orrick’s global energy platform, which ranks No. 2 in Energy Transition and No. 1 for PPAs by volume globally (Inspiratia).

“We are incredibly excited to add Michael to our platform to help clients innovate in Indonesia and throughout Asia. Michael is deeply respected by the market’s leading players and adds strong financing experience to our platform. His experience working in not only renewables but also in traditional fossil fuel transactions connects with our market-leading renewables practice and emerging practice in newer energy transition technologies such as hydrogen, carbon capture, utilization and sequestration, and e-fuels,” said partner Giji John, who is based in Orrick’s Singapore office and serves on the firm’s Management Committee.

“Orrick launched in Singapore with a vision of building a best-in-class energy transition team by attracting top talent on the ground and backing it with the resources of the firm’s global energy platform – a team recognized worldwide for its work on the most innovative projects. The addition of Michael in Singapore is the perfect next step in meaningfully advancing this strategy by increasing the breadth and depth of our Asia energy offering, including in Indonesia, which is a key energy market,” said Orrick Singapore Office Leader Karthik Kumar.

Chambers Band 1-ranked in Indonesia for the past seven years, Michael advises PT Pertamina (Persero), Indonesia’s state-owned energy company; top-tier sponsors from Japan, Korea and the Middle East; and key regional multilateral lenders and export-credit agencies such as Asian Development Bank, International Finance Corporation and Japan Bank for International Cooperation. He has worked on some of the market’s most significant renewable energy transactions, including solar, floating solar, geothermal, wind and hydro projects. Michael also has significant experience in mining, oil and gas, and LNG transactions across the region.

Michael’s experience with Japanese-based sponsors and government agency lenders will complement Orrick’s Tokyo E&I team, which advises trading houses, corporates and financial institutions on outbound investment as well as inbound investment into Japan’s tremendously active renewable energy market and is ranked by Chambers for Projects & Energy: International.

“I'm excited by Orrick’s vision for the region, the top-quality platform the firm has built in Singapore, Japan and globally, and its emphasis on the most innovative advice. I think this is exactly what’s needed to support energy transition in the region, and we are going to offer a distinctive market solution that will leverage Orrick’s cutting-edge experience in the United States and globally,” Michael said.

Including Michael and Ari, Orrick will have added 19 partners to its global E&I platform since the beginning of 2022. The firm has a leading global offshore wind practice and has led the development of this technology in Asia, including advising on the US$1.6bn project financing of the 298MW Zhong Neng Offshore Wind Farm in Taiwan, which was awarded Deal of the Year for 2022 by IJ Global. Orrick has also been recognized as a Project Finance Practice Group of the Year eight times (Law360).