Oil & Gas - Upstream

LITIGATION, ARBITRATION & INVESTIGATION

• Co-lead counsel to Occidental Petroleum in an ICSID arbitration against the Republic of Ecuador arising out of the wrongful termination of a production-sharing agreement that resulted in the largest ICSID and investment treaty award to date.
• European and US oil companies in an ICDR arbitration in New York against a Latin American major arising out of alleged breaches of a crude transportation agreement. Claims are in excess of $80 million.
• Lead arbitration counsel for BP in insurance coverage disputes arising from the Deepwater Horizon incident and resulting oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Investors in a Stockholm Chamber of Commerce arbitration against the Russian Federation relating to the Russian government’s liquidation of Yukos, which obtained an award of compensation and established a baseline valuation for other Yukos investors.
• Claimants in an ICSID arbitration against the Argentine Republic relating to investments in the natural gas industry.
• A major integrated company in a multi-billion dollar ICSID proceeding against the Republic of Venezuela, relating to expropriatory and other acts of the Venezuelan government.
• A French E&P company in an ICC arbitration with a Swedish independent arising out of the alleged breach of first refusal rights under a JOA.
• A French oil and gas independent in an ICSID arbitration against a Latin American state, in a dispute arising out of alleged breaches of a bilateral investment treaty and several production sharing agreements.

• Designated lead trial counsel for BP in litigation arising from the Deepwater Horizon incident and resulting oil spill.
• A coalition of eleven oil and gas companies whose efforts to pursue development of their California offshore oil and gas leases were thwarted by the federal government, recovering more than $1.0 billion, including judgment after trial on complex geological and reservoir engineering issues.
• All the major domestic oil and gas trade associations in defending multiple ongoing district court and court of appeals lawsuits raising environmental challenges to continued exploration and development in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere.
• Numerous oil companies, including ExxonMobil, Shell, and Chevron, in successful breach of contract lawsuits involving leases offshore Alaska, Florida, and North Carolina, recovering more than $600 million.
• American Petroleum Institute as amicus in case alleging fossil fuel producers are responsible for greenhouse gas emissions and climate change that resulted in Hurricane Katrina damage.
• An oil producer in litigation that invalidated the federal government’s effort to impose “price trigger” conditions on royalty relief under the Deep Water Royalty Relief Act.
• An E&P company in litigation challenging an order requiring it to spend $ many millions of dollars to permanently plug an exploratory well on an offshore lease, winning an appellate decision vacating the order.

• An oil and gas company and its executive in connection with congressional hearing to examine absence of “price trigger” conditions on royalty relief for deepwater OCS leases.

• An executive of an oilfield services company in a wide-ranging investigation into alleged bribery of government officials in Africa in connection with the selection of the company to build a major LNG project.
• A major oil company in a SEC investigation into activities in a Middle Eastern nation.
• An oil company in a DOJ investigation of sales in the Middle East.
• An oil company in conducting internal investigations of activities in the former Soviet Union and in West Africa.

• An Audit Committee of a leading energy services company in a worldwide internal investigation and agency disclosures of sales of oilfield equipment to US-sanctioned countries.
• A multinational oil and gas company in advising on the impact of Middle East trade sanctions programs on technology licensing arrangements and the broader operation of affiliates and joint ventures incorporated outside the United States.
• Publicly traded oil and gas companies on SEC disclosure issues associated with dealings in US-sanctioned markets and in responding to inquiries from SEC’s Office of Global Security Risk.
   

CORPORATE

• SandRidge Energy, Inc., an oil and natural gas exploration and production company:
  • in its $1.6 billion acquisition of Arena Resources, Inc.;
  • in its $1.2 billion acquisition of Dynamic Offshore Resources, LLC; and
  • in its $2.6 billion sale of Permian Basin properties in West Texas to Sheridan Production Partners.
• ExxonMobil Corp.:
  • in structuring and establishing (with Chevron, Shell and ConocoPhillips) the Marine Well Containment Company, a venture dedicated to build and deploy a rapid response system to capture and contain oil in the event of a potential future underwater well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico; and
  • on antitrust aspects of its acquisition of XTO Energy, Inc.
• Kerr-McGee Corporation in its $18 billion all cash merger with Anadarko Petroleum and its $3.4 billion stock merger with Westport Resources Corporation.
• The Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Atlas Pipeline Holdings L.P. in its acquisition from its controlling unit holder, Atlas Energy, Inc., of all of Atlas Energy’s partnership management business and certain producing oil & gas assets for total consideration of $250 million in conjunction with Atlas Energy’s acquisition by Chevron for total consideration of approximately $4.3 billion.
• UBS, as financial advisor to:
  • Atlas Energy in its $1.225 billion acquisition of DTE Gas & Oil Company from DTE Energy Company;
  • GulfTerra Energy Partners in its $3.5 billion merger with Enterprise Products Partners; and
  • Grey Wolf, Inc. in its $2 billion acquisition by Precision Drilling Trust.
• Joy Global in its $1.1 billion acquisition of LeTourneau Technologies, Inc.
• E.On U.S. LLC in the sale of its 28% minority interest in Gas Natural BAN S.A. to Gas Natural SDG, S.A.

• Eland Oil & Gas PLC in its £118 million ($189 million) initial offering on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in connection with its acquisition of an interest in an oil mining license in Nigeria.
• Energy XXI (Bermuda) Limited, a Nasdaq and AIM listed oil exploration company, on issues related to electronic settlement of its AIM listed securities.
• Exxon Mobil Corp. on credit facilities, commercial paper programs, bilateral credit agreements, bridge acquisition facilities, a credit intermediation arrangement and swap transactions.
• GeoPetro Resources Company in its $15.1 million offering of common shares.
• Kerr-McGee Corporation in over $6 billion of commercial bank financings, including a senior secured multi-tranche credit facility and a senior unsecured revolving credit facility.
• SandRidge Energy, Inc.:
  • on a series of capital markets transactions, including issuances of senior notes and placements of preferred stock, raising over $5.5 billion of equity and debt capital;
  • in its tender offers to retire an aggregate of $1.0 billion of outstanding senior notes due in 2014 and 2015;
  • in its initial public offerings of three royalty trusts sponsored by SandRidge, with aggregate proceeds of $1.5 billion; and
  • on its secured revolving credit facility.
• Wilmington Trust Company, as trustee and collateral agent, in over 100 secured and unsecured Rule 144A high yield offerings, including:
  • in a $338 million in 16% Second-Lien Junior Secured Notes due 2014 issued by Energy XXI Gulf Coast, Inc.; and
  • in a $250 million in 8% Notes due 2016 by Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company