King & Spalding Adds Partner John Barquin to International Energy Practice

HOUSTON, TX -- (MARKET WIRE) -- November 10, 2006 -- King & Spalding, a leading international law firm, announced today that John H. Barquin, an energy attorney with significant experience in the development and financing of international energy projects, has joined the firm as partner in its energy practice group. He will practice from the firm's 100-lawyer Houston office.

"We are very excited to welcome John to King & Spalding and look forward to the contributions he will make to the continued expansion of our energy practice internationally," said Philip R. Weems, the leader of King & Spalding's energy practice group. "Our clients' needs are becoming increasingly global in nature, and John's experience handling energy projects in Latin America, Europe and beyond will be key to our ability to help them address the legal challenges they face around the world."

Barquin practiced for eight years at Vinson & Elkins, where he was a partner from 1998 to 2002. While there, he negotiated and documented complex energy transactions throughout Latin America and other areas of the world. Representative matters Barquin handled included gas transportation agreements; long-term power purchase agreements; transmission, interconnection and EPC contracts; acquisitions and divestitures of pipeline and power plant assets; and limited-recourse financings of power projects and pipelines. For the past four years, he has been involved in a venture developing educational programs for American Public Television.

Before joining Vinson & Elkins, Barquin was resident in the Ankara, Turkey office of White & Case, where he participated in the development and financing of power plants and other complex infrastructure projects (such as the Ankara Metro and Istanbul Airport Expansion) on the Build-Operate-Transfer model. He then served as an advisor to the Turkish Ministry of Defense on a variety of joint venture and co-production projects. Barquin earned a B.A. from University of Texas and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

"I am delighted to be joining King & Spalding's energy practice. King & Spalding's renown in the energy world, its remarkably talented attorneys and its focus on growth offer extraordinary opportunities for someone with my international energy experience," Barquin said.

King & Spalding opened its Houston office in 1995 with three litigation attorneys; today the office has grown to more than 100 attorneys focusing on a diverse array of litigation and transactional law.

King & Spalding is widely recognized as an international leader in the field of energy law. The firm's energy practice -- with nearly 75 lawyers practicing from the firm's offices in Houston, London, New York and Washington, D.C. -- handles complex domestic and international energy transactions, including operational and supply chain agreements and issues, complex joint ventures and finance, and mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions. The firm also has extensive experience managing international litigation and arbitration for energy industry clients

Note to Editors: For a photo of John Barquin, please contact Jessica Schnack at 212-556-2226 or jschnack@kslaw.com.

About King & Spalding

King & Spalding is an international law firm with more than 800 lawyers in Atlanta, Houston, London, New York and Washington, D.C. The firm represents more than half of the Fortune 100, and in a Corporate Counsel survey in August 2006 was ranked one of the top ten firms representing Fortune 250 companies overall. For additional information, visit www.kslaw.com.

Contact Information: Contact: Jessica Schnack King & Spalding LLP Ph (212) 556-2226 Email Contact