Consultant, Perth
Phone +61 8 9211 7791
Fax +61 8 9211 7878
peter.patrikeos@freehills.com
Current practice
Peter Patrikeos is a consultant to the firm's major projects practice, having been a senior partner with Freehills previously. He has been in continuous practice for over 37 years.Industry experience
In the mid seventies, Peter was an Assistant Crown Solicitor in the Crown Law Department of Western Australia. In that role his specific responsibility was providing legal input to the negotiation and preparation of resource agreements between the State and major mining and oil and gas entities. There was intense activity in the development of the State's resources at that time.Peter continues to practice as an adviser to Government and to parties dealing with Government.
Peter was senior internal counsel to the former State Energy Commission of Western Australia from 1977 to 1980. He was in the SECWA team that negotiated the acquisition of the domestic natural gas supply from the North West Shelf Joint Venture, then largest gas contract of its kind in the State.
Before returning to private practice at Freehills in 1998, Peter was senior internal counsel to a large Western Australian conglomerate which involved advising on a wide range of commercial and litigious issues and the legal aspects of significant mergers and acquisitions. On joining Freehills, Peter practised extensively in the fields of mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, energy, resources and government.
Peter has had an active role in the deregulation of the energy and water industries in the State as a consequence of the Hilmer Report. Throughout 1994 Peter acted for the WA Energy Implementation Group. He was a member of the team that was responsible for the resolution of the many legal, commercial and administrative issues involved in restructuring the energy industry in the State and for the creation of Western Power, AlintaGas and the WA Office of Energy.
Throughout 1995 Peter acted for the Water Industry Restructure Implementation Group which was appointed to restructure the water industry in WA. He was a member of a team that had a role similar to the Energy Implementation Group. That team successfully brought about the creation of the Water Corporation, the Water and Rivers Commission and the Office of Water Regulation.
Peter's involvement in the restructuring of Government agencies as outlined above and his continuing association with the Water Corporation in particular, has involved and continues to involve him with a wide range of issues in connection with the deregulation of the water industry in the State and the implementation of National Competition Policy.
Peter has provided legal advice to numerous other Government agencies and departments including, in relation to access regimes for gas and electricity transmission facilities, the Office of Energy.
