Australian leader Allens has acted opposite global duo Allen & Overy (A&O) and White & Case on a cross-border deal in Asia-Pacific's simmering energy market.

The deal has seen Japanese group Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) take a stake in one of Australia's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in a deal valued at around $1bn (£621m). The investment in the Chevron-backed Wheatstone Project occurred through a joint venture known as Pacific Energy Japan, consisting of TEPCO, Mitsubishi Corporation, Nippon Yusen (NYK) and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation. 

The stake was acquired via the special purpose vehicle PE Wheatstone (PEW). A&O represented Mitsubishi and NYK on the deal, alongside leading Japanese law firm Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu. A&O fielded a Tokyo-based team of five led by corporate partner Simon Black, and another group from Perth headed by partner Angus Jones.

TEPCO was advised by White & Case, whose corporate partner Hendrik Gordenker worked on the mandate in Japan. Allens acted for TEPCO and the PEW venture as a whole on Australian law matters. 

Japanese law firm Nishimura & Asahi was instructed by the lead financial adviser on the deal, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, which provided debt facilities to fund PEW's investment.

The deal comes as national energy companies move to secure long-term resources in the wake of the shut-down of Japan's nuclear industry following the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011, when TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was damaged.

Under the latest transaction, which completed last month, PEW acquired an 8% interest in the onshore LNG facility and a 10% interest in the offshore production fields, from Chevron. 

Once production begins in 2016, PEW will sell its share of the LNG output to TEPCO via a long-term supply contract.