Lauded by clients for its ability to bring ‘a wealth of experience and technical know-how to transactions’, the energy team at Wiersholm runs the gamut of renewable and traditional energy work, handling commercial agreements, project financing work, regulations, and project development. Inge Ekker Bartnes and Jon Rabben jointly oversee the renewables offering; Bartnes is recommended for work relating to M&A, financing deals, and financial restructurings, while Rabben assists domestic and international clients with regulatory issues, contract negotiations, and corporate matters. On the oil and gas front, the team’s expertise spans the full range of petroleum law and regulatory work, as well as commercial agreements, disputes, and transactional mandates. Sondre Dyrland oversees the oil and gas group and has extensive expertise in petroleum law and contractual matters, while Thomas Naalsund handles contentious work. At associate level, the ‘technically very sharp’ Svanhild Vesterheim specialises in regulatory matters in the renewable energy sector. Torkjel Grøndalen joined the practice in early 2024 from Advokatfirmaet Schjødt.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Wiersholm is a firm which provides excellent legal services within most fields of business and has good expertise within oil and gas. They also have a number of very skilled arbitration lawyers. Generally easy to cooperate with and sufficient resources to handle the cases expediently.’

  • ‘Sondre Dyrland is one of the most competent oil and gas lawyers in Norway with strong focus on this business. He analyses the cases very thoroughly and is always very well prepared. You always feel safe that all aspects of the case have been taken into account when working with Mr Dyrland and he is also a very good litigator.'

  • ‘In addition to bringing a wealth of experience and technical know-how to transactions, the team demonstrates an ability to quickly become an extension of our internal team, understanding the genuine commercial drivers for the transaction and ensuring that our ultimate objective is baked into all analysis, considerations and key decisions.'

  • ‘Svanhild Vesterheim - technically very sharp and able to pinpoint and provide commercially sophisticated advice on the key commercial and risk decisions on a transaction. Takes a proactive approach, delivers advice in a "user friendly" format and is fully aligned with our internal team. She is a pleasure to work with and operates at Partner level.'

  • 'Inge Ekker Bartnes utilises his extensive experience and expertise to provide real "value-added" insight at key points of the transaction, the type of support you want (and need) from a top-quality partner in this sector. Exceptional at "cutting through the noise" on transactions and facilitates key decision-making. Again, he is a pleasure to work with.’
  • ‘Great work done! Outstanding work from all employees, and especially the partners, pushing the work forward to be done. Excellent work.’

  • ‘Jon Rabben is a star of the Wiersholm team with a proactive and agile approach.’

Key clients

  • Statkraft AS
  • Statkraft Mer Holding AS
  • Statkraft Energi AS
  • The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy
  • NTE AS
  • NTE Energi AS
  • TrønderEnergi AS
  • ANEO AS
  • Equinor ASA
  • Hydro Energi AS
  • Kyoto Group AS
  • Green H AS
  • Infranode AB
  • Å Energi AS
  • Dalane Energi AS
  • Dalane Kraft AS
  • Dalane Vind AS
  • Enida AS
  • Infracapital Ltd
  • Recharge AS
  • Thermalstore Norway AS
  • PATRIZIA Infrastructure
  • Østfold Energi AS
  • Siso Energi AS
  • Inherit Carbon Solutions AS
  • Istad AS
  • Istad Nett AS
  • Istad Fiber AS
  • Kymppivoima Hydro Oy
  • Skagerak Energi AS
  • Mainstream Renewable Power Limited
  • Ringerikskraft AS
  • Ringerikskraft Produksjon AS
  • Statnett SF
  • Suomen Voima Oy
  • SV Vattenkraft AB
  • Troms Kraft AS
  • Kinect Energy AS
  • Vauban Infrastructure Partners
  • Abrdn plc
  • Northern Lights JV DA
  • Gassco AS
  • Petoro AS
  • ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS
  • TotalEnergies EP Norge AS
  • TotalEnergies S.A.
  • Chrysaor Norge AS

Work highlights

  • Acting as legal counsel of Equinor Energy AS, Petoro AS and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS as participants in the Breidablikk Unit in a lawsuit brought by the fourth partner in the unit, Vår Energi, against the Norwegian Government and the clients.
  • Assisted OKEA with its acquisition of a portfolio of producing assets from Wintershall Dea.
  • Acting as legal counsel for Northern Lights on developing new contractual concepts, mechanisms and solutions for the commercial transport and storage of CO2.

Lawyers

Leading individuals: Electricity and renewable energy
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Leading individuals: Oil and gas
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners: Oil and gas
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Inge Ekker Bartnes, Jon Rabben, Sondre Dyrland

Other key lawyers

Thomas Naalsund, Svanhild Vesterheim, Torkjel Grøndalen