Jon Paul Mouttet

About the Lawyer

Jon Paul Mouttet is a Senior Partner in the Commercial Department of Fitzwilliam Stone Furness-Smith & Morgan and serves as the Head of the Firm's Energy and Tax Departments. He joined the firm at the end of 2005, initially active in both the Litigation and Commercial Departments, but now focuses on commercial work and tax litigation. His practice primarily centers on industrial foreign investment projects, energy, and tax law.

With over fifteen years of experience in the energy sector, Mr. Mouttet regularly advises on petroleum-related matters across the entire value chain including upstream, midstream, downstream, and service-related activities. He acts as local counsel to several international oil and gas companies involved in upstream exploration and production in Trinidad and Tobago, advising on petroleum legislation, exploration and production licenses, production sharing contracts, and sub-licence concessions issued by the State Oil Company, Petrotrin/Heritage.

In the midstream and downstream segments, he has advised on multiple energy projects involving gas sales, petroleum transportation, terminal optimization, LNG, CNG, polypropylene, polyethylene, petrochemicals, and notably the establishment of a methanol and di-methyl ether petrochemicals complex in La Brea. He has represented clients in power generation transactions and ongoing operations involving gas-powered and renewable energy assets in Trinidad.

Beyond pure energy law, Mr. Mouttet advises on industrial regulation, tax, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and other commercial and corporate matters. He frequently represents local and international clients in contentious tax appeals before the Trinidad and Tobago Tax Appeal Board. He also contributes regularly to legal publications on Trinidad and Tobago energy law.

Jon Paul sits on several boards and is a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Energy Chamber’s Fiscal Reform Taskforce for the energy sector. He is recognized as a leading energy lawyer in Trinidad and Tobago.

Experience

Jon Paul Mouttet has over fifteen years of experience practicing energy law, having joined Fitzwilliam Stone Furness-Smith & Morgan in 2005. Throughout his career, he has specialized in providing legal services across the energy value chain, including upstream exploration and production, midstream infrastructure and transactions, and downstream project development and operations. He serves as local counsel for several international oil and gas companies operating in Trinidad and Tobago and advises on complex licensing, contractual, regulatory, and transactional matters.

His advisory experience spans structuring and negotiating production sharing contracts, petroleum exploration licenses, midstream gas sales and transportation agreements, petrochemicals facilities development, and power generation asset transactions. He is also deeply involved in energy sector tax matters, regulatory compliance, and dispute resolution.

Specialty

Jon Paul Mouttet’s key areas of legal expertise include:

• Energy Law focusing on Oil and Gas across upstream, midstream, downstream, and service sectors
• Petroleum Legislation, Exploration and Production Licenses, and Production Sharing Contracts
• Foreign Investment and Commercial Transactions in Energy and Petrochemical Projects
• Tax Law, including contentious and non-contentious tax matters related to the energy sector
• Power Generation transactions involving gas-powered and renewable energy assets
• Regulatory Compliance, Health Safety and Environment (HSE) in energy operations

Education

Jon Paul Mouttet earned his LL.B. from the University of the West Indies, followed by legal certification at Hugh Wooding Law School. He also holds an LL.M. degree from King's College London.

He is admitted to practice law in Trinidad and Tobago since 2005 and in Guyana since 2021.