King & Spalding has added a partner to its Asia energy practice with the hire of oil and gas specialist Merrick White from Clifford Chance (CC).

White, who is set to join King & Spalding in the coming month, will be based in the US firm's Singapore office, working alongside fellow energy partners Dan Rogers and Philip Weems.

White has spent almost 10 years with CC, working on a range of energy deals across Singapore and Indonesia.

He made partner at the firm last year, after joining in 2003 from ConocoPhillips. In addition to his legal qualifications he is also a qualified chartered chemical engineer, with significant in-house commercial experience in the sector after previous spells at British Gas, Clyde Petroleum and Gulf Indonesia.

"Given his experience on the business side, White is able to generate a lot of his own business, which combined with our specialist oil and gas focus will make him really valuable to the practice," said King & Spalding Singapore managing partner John Salvage.

"The existing partners are specialised in liquefied natural gas, but Merrick also has oil and gas experience, and particularly in Indonesia," he added.

King & Spalding's Singapore office, which opened in 2010, is currently the firm's only office in Asia. The office serves as a hub for the firm's work in energy projects as well as international arbitration across the Asia-Pacific region.

Savage said the firm is set to make further lateral hires and internal promotions in Asia in an effort to increase its footprint in the region.