Danielle Gomes de Almeida Valois

Professional Experience

Danielle Valois joined the Firm in 1999 and became partner in 2011. As a principal, she heads the Oil & Gas Practice in Brazil.

Her practice is focused on energy cross-border transactions. She has a wide breadth of experience providing legal, regulatory and commercial support on M&A, international trades, Oil & Gas and infrastructure development projects, disputes, anti-corruption and sanction advice, policymaking and corporate governance. Danielle is accredited as a lawyer in Brazil and has a vast experience in working in international projects with multiple jurisdictions.

Awards and Accolades

Danielle has been recognized for her work by the main legal directories such as Global Chambers & Partners, IFLR 1000, The Legal 500, Latin Lawyer 250, Leaders League, Analise Advocacia Mulher – Full Service, Analise Advocacia 500, LACCA Approved and Euromoney.

Academic Background

She graduated from Universidade Cândido Mendes with a degree in Law.

Business Sustainability Management at the University of Cambridge – Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

Activities outside the office

Danielle is a board member of the Instituto de Desenvolvimento e Gestão (IDG) and is a member of the GRI Global Hydrogen Committee.

In the past decade, she has been a speaker in a variety of industry conferences, including:

• Evento GRI – Hydrogen Value Chain” GRI Energy Transition –
  February 2022
• Congresso Brasileiro do Hidrogênio – ABH2 – December 2021
• XI Conferência Internacional Para Multinacionais – Energy Transition Opportunities in LATAM and the Hydrogen Economy – October, 2021
• FGV Energia – Webinar | Energia em Foco | Biodiesel e a Diversificação Energética – September, 2021
• Blue Ocean – Webinar: Diretrizes do Programa Nacional do Hidrogênio e Seus impactos nos Negócios de Gás & Energia no Brasil. August, 2021
• Webinar – Cities Of Tomorrow – August, 2021
• Treinamento Jurídico – Regulação em Energia – August, 2021
• GRI eMeeting Hydrogen Economy Agenda in Latin America – July, 2021
• Fórum Nova Lei do Gás – Regras, Investimento e Expansão  – June, 2021
• Webinar: The New EU Taxonomy’s Impact on the Energy Sector – May, 2021
• WEBINAR – Trilha do Gás & Energia – Sessão Faveret Lampert –  Perspectivas para as Produções Locais de Gás Natural 2021 – April, 2021
• Institute for Energy Law – IEL  – 72nd Annual Oil and Gas Law Conference  – April, 2021
• ABiogás  – Webinar – Hidrogênio Verde a partir de Biogás – April, 2021
• Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN) – Webinar: Learnings from O&G Regulators: Brazil, Colombia and Mexico – April, 2021
• Webinar: Sustentabilidade Ambiental, Bioeletricidade e o Selo Energia Verde – Edição 2021 – March, 2021
• Institute for Energy Law – IEL International Practice Committee Meeting – March, 2021
• WBCSD – Events : Applying risk management to manage your relationship with natural capital  –  March, 2021
• FOCUS 2021: A Special IEL Summit on Energy, Leadership & Diversity (Conference) 2021 – March, 2021
• “Brazil Gas Conference” – Rio de Janeiro, December, 2019;
• “Rio Oil & Gas: Regulatory Stability in the Brazilian Oil & Gas Industry” – Rio de Janeiro, September 25, 2018;
• “Argus Rio Crude Conference 2018” – Rio de Janeiro, May 24, 2018;
• “International Conference of the Institute of Energy Law” – Houston; February 2018;
• “4th B&M Annual Oil & Gas Institute ” – Houston; May 2017;
• “First Annual Latin America Power Academy” – São Paulo; December 2016;
• “VI International Conference of Brazilian Multinationals” – Rio de Janeiro; October 2016;
• “The New State Companies Law” – Rio de Janeiro; October 2016;
•  “Latin Lawyer`s 7th Annual Oil & Gas Conference” – Mexico ; May 2016;
• “3rd B&M Global Oil & Gas Institute” – Houston; May 2016;
• “III Symposium Challenges and Opportunities on International Business” – Rio de Janeiro; October 2015;
• “Latin Lawyer 6th Annual Oil & Gas” – Rio de Janeiro; May 2015;
• “2nd B&M Annual Oil & Gas Institute” – Houston; May 2015;
• “Latin Lawyer 5th Annual Oil & Gas” – Rio de Janeiro; May 2014;
• “IV International Conference of Brazilian Multinationals – Rio de Janeiro; September 2014;
• “I International Conference of Construction Projects” – Rio de Janeiro; September 2013;
• “Real State Forum” – Rio de Janeiro; September 2013;
• “Latin Lawyer 4th Annual Oil & Gas”; Rio de Janeiro; May 2013;
• “Brazil Natural Gas Roundtable”; Rio de Janeiro; April 2013;
• “International Oil Industry Going to Rio: Capitalizing on Latin American Growth” – Association International Petroleum Conference – AIPN Rio 2012;
• “The Oil & Gas Industry in Context: Latest Regulatory and Tax Developments in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico” – Houston; September 2012;
• “Biofuels Logistics Conference” – Rio de Janeiro; September 2012;
• “Public Biddings in the Brazilian Oil & Gas Sector”- Rio Oil & Gas Conference – Rio de Janeiro; September 2012;
• “Procurement and Local Content Rules in Brazil”, Latin Lawyer Oil & Gas Conference – Rio de Janeiro; May 2012;
• “NOCs Going International B&M Conference at the 20th World Petroleum Congress – Qatar; Doha; December 2011;
• “Key Oil & Gas Legal Issues in Latin America”, B&M LA Conference – Houston; November 2011;
• “The Canadian Council for the Americas – Alberta, in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and the Government of Alberta- Brazil: Business Opportunities in the Brazilian Onshore industry” – Calgary; Alberta; November 2011;
• “The Future of Litigation in the Oil and Gas Industry, Arbitration, ADR and Expert Determination” – LARC AIPN Seminar – Rio de Janeiro; May 2011;
• “Unitization: A Comparative Law Analysis” – Second Pre- Salt Conference – Rio de Janeiro; May 2011.

Representative matters and clients

Danielle worked in the last two decades in several of the most important transactions in oil and gas in Brazil. On top of that, she also participated in several projects in multiple jurisdictions and stakeholders that had a significant impact in the industry. The top 15 engagements she led in the past decade are described below:

Refineries and Petrochemical

• Counseled a publicly traded energy company in the construction of a petrochemical complex in Brazil.
• Counseled a publicly traded energy company in the construction of a refinery in the northeast of Brazil.
• Counseled Kraton Corporation on the global sale of its Cariflex business unit to South Korea-based conglomerate Daelim Industrial Co.

Oil & Gas Field Development

• Counseled a publicly traded energy company in the financing, corporate structuring, public law, regulatory, customs, currency exchange, environmental and contractual aspects involved in the construction of two Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading Units (FPSO) intended to operate in the Campos Basin (offshore).
• Counseled a publicly traded energy company in the international bidding procedure intended to select contractors for the construction of drilling rig units intended to operate in the presalt province.
• Advice to an Asian company in the structuring of the development of the Polvo Field and export of crude from the subject field (Offshore). First private crude export in Brazil.

Mergers and Acquisitions

• Representation of the client’s Brazilian interests in the Macau Polo oil fields as part of the reorganization process of the group for their IPO in Brazil.
• Representation of a publicly traded energy company in the acquisition of companies engaged in the production of biofuels in Brazil.

Oil & Gas Compliance

• Co-lead of a high-profile and complex internal investigation at a publicly traded energy company as a result of fraud and bribery allegations unveiled by the “Car Wash Operation”, conducted by the Brazilian federal authorities. The internal investigation in reference is considered as the most complex and high-profile investigation conducted in Brazil and one of the most complex investigations conducted in the world, given the size and importance of the client to Brazilian economy and to the Brazilian people in general.

Dispute Resolutions

• Representation of a consortium formed by three publicly traded multinationals in a multibillionaire litigation against ANP (Brazilian National Oil Agency) on the delimitation of the area that will be subject to the development plan of the Lula field (the largest oil field of the pre-salt province). Lula Arbitration is known to be the highest-value arbitration in Brazilian history.
• Representation of an energy company in a construction dispute involving the EPC Contract signed for the construction of two FPSOs designed to operate in giant offshore oilfields in Brazil.

Other Representative Engagements

• Advice to the newly created federal state company on the structuring of the crude oil trading model to be adopted by the Brazilian federal government in the commercialization of the federal government portion of the crude oil produced from presalt fields.

• Advice to the association of oilfield service providers on the structuring of a proposal for the new regulatory framework to be adopted by the ANP (Brazilian National Oil & Gas Agency) for Research & Development activities carried out in the Brazilian Oil & Gas Industry.