Former BG Group general counsel (GC) Graham Vinter has joined Covington & Burling's London office, 18 months after leaving the oil company.

Vinter joins the US law firm as senior counsel and chair of the project finance practice.

He left BG just before news emerged that Royal Dutch Shell was planning to take over BG in a £36bn deal, which completed in February this year.

Before joining BG Group in 2007, Vinter spent 27 years at Allen & Overy (A&O), where he was global head of projects for 11 years.

He was replaced at BG by Tom Melbye Eide, former GC of Norwegian aluminium manufacturer Sapa.

Vinter oversaw BG's first legal panel in 2010. At that time, the exploration and development company chose A&O, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, legacy Herbert Smith and CMS Cameron McKenna as its four panel advisers.

Three years later, the company handed a spot to Clifford Chance as it slimmed down its roster, dropping Herbert Smith Freehills and A&O.

Timothy Hester, Covington's chair, said: "We see an opportunity at Covington to build a leading projects practice that also provides synergies with other parts of the firm – in particular, arbitration, government affairs, tax, corporate, IP and energy regulation. As we move along this path, Graham's experience will be a valuable asset to both the firm and our clients globally."

Vinter added: "Project finance is all about navigating complex projects involving multiple sets of interests from around the world, and Covington's strength in policy-facing matters and diplomacy is a huge asset in this context. It is a great platform on which to build a leading project finance practice and I look forward to the challenge."