Oil & Gas

Global Leader in Oil & Gas Law

Bracewell has one of the world’s top oil and gas practices. For more than a half century, we have drawn on our deep industry knowledge to advise clients on leading transactions across the oil and gas value chain, including the midstream, downstream, upstream and service sectors. Chambers Global, Chambers USA and Chambers UK consistently rank our oil and gas practice, including our lawyers, in their top bands — a testament to our extensive experience and knowledge of the commercial, legal and regulatory challenges faced by our oil and gas clients.

We have one of the largest dedicated energy teams in the world. We also have one of the largest environmental practices in the United States with extensive experience in oil and gas projects; a finance team that is a market leader in oil and gas finance; a tax team with deep experience across the energy value chain; a capital markets team that works extensively with issuers and underwriters in energy company offerings; a large litigation team with a broad range of experience resolving complex disputes; an antitrust team immersed in the competitive issued faced by our oil and gas clients; and an intellectual property group experienced in defending the IP rights of energy companies across the globe.

Our team represents a diverse range of oil and gas sector participants, including Apache Corporation, Cheniere, Eni, Enterprise Products, EOG Resources, Establissements Maurel & Prom, Genel Energy, Hilcorp, Holly Energy Partners, Kinder Morgan, Neptune Energy (backed by Carlyle and other private equity investors), Pembina, Phillips 66, Pioneer Natural Resources, Savannah Energy and TC Energy. We also represent commercial banks, investment banks, trading houses, private equity funds and other investors in the oil and gas space.

Our oil and gas lawyers are located in key energy hubs throughout the world, which allows us to work seamlessly on transactions across the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. We are highly regarded for our work on cross-border transactions. As one client told Chambers Global (2020), “what Bracewell is able to do that no other equivalent firm is able to do is bring equivalent expertise from both markets [US and UK], which leads to a very seamless service.”

We Know Energy^®.

Areas of Focus

Exploration & Production

Our lawyers have decades of experience representing clients in the upstream oil and gas industry in jurisdictions around the world, which earned them top rankings in Chambers and Legal 500.We represent independent upstream businesses, international oil companies, private investment funds and financial institutions in every aspect of the upstream sector, including transactions, financing, project development and commercial arrangements, environmental and other regulatory permitting, compliance and enforcement, government relations and disputes.

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Midstream

We draw on our strengths as one of the largest dedicated energy teams in the world to provide comprehensive legal advice to midstream businesses and investors in transactions across the United States and throughout the world. Our deep experience in the midstream is consistently recognized in leading industry publications, such as Chambers and Legal 500.

We represent clients on the development, regulation, ownership, operation, acquisition and disposition of gas and liquid pipelines, gathering systems, storage and processing facilities, terminals and LNG facilities. We have experience across the complete midstream lifecycle, from project development, permitting, financing and construction, to operations and sales and purchases of midstream assets and companies, to the satisfaction of regulatory requirements.

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Oil & Gas Trading & Marketing

We are among the leading law firms in standardized and structured transactions involving physical and financial power, oil, gas and other commodities. Our team includes lawyers with hands-on experience in securities, regulatory, energy markets, tax, credit, bankruptcy, insolvency and restructuring matters. Our attorneys also have significant experience with structured commodity transactions, acquisitions and divestitures involving trading portfolios and compliance with related regulations.

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Refining & Petrochemicals

We have extensive experience in all aspects of downstream oil and gas operations, including refining, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution businesses. Our dedicated team focuses on petrochemicals and refining and has successfully worked on some of the industry’s largest and most complex projects.

We represent clients in M&A transactions, project and portfolio financing, operational agreements (including feedstock and offtake contracts), environmental and compliance issues, permitting and other regulatory matters, intellectual property issues, and defending and prosecuting litigation.

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Water Management

Our deep understanding of the upstream and midstream sector has made us the go-to firm for various water management stakeholders involved in unconventional shale plays. Clients turn to us for our knowledge of water law and its broad applications, including regulatory matters, real estate, finance, litigation and legislation.

We have represented upstream producers and newly formed water management companies with drafting and negotiating gathering, disposal, connection, transportation and recycling agreements; acquiring and the disposition of water-producing and disposal assets; and drafting and negotiating freshwater supply, recycling and redelivery agreements. We also engage in legislative and administrative advocacy as it relates to this burgeoning industry, at the federal and state level.

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Recognition for Global Excellence

Our lawyers are recognized leaders in the oil and gas industry, and our oil and gas practice ranks among the top practices in the world.

Chambers Global – UK Energy & Natural Resources: Oil & Gas; UK Energy Sector (International & Cross-Border); USA Energy Sector (International & Cross-Border); USA Oil & Gas Regulatory & Litigation; USA Oil & Gas Transactional; USA Projects
Chambers UK – UK-wide Energy & Natural Resources: Oil & Gas
Chambers USA – Nationwide Oil & Gas Regulatory & Litigation (Band 1); Nationwide Oil & Gas Transactional; Nationwide Projects: Oil & Gas
IFLR1000 – UK Project Development: Oil & Gas (Tier 1); US Project Development: Oil & Gas
Legal 500 UK – Emerging Markets; Oil & Gas
Legal 500 US – Energy Litigation: Oil & Gas; Energy Regulation: Oil & Gas (Tier 1); Energy Transactions: Oil & Gas
U.S. News – Best Lawyers – National Energy Law (Tier 1); National Oil & Gas Law (Tier 1); Austin Energy Law (Tier 1); Austin Water Law (Tier 1); Houston Energy Law (Tier 1); Houston Natural Resources Law (Tier 1); Houston Oil & Gas Law (Tier 1); New York Energy Law (Tier 1); Washington, DC Energy Law (Tier 1); Washington, DC Oil & Gas Law (Tier 1)

Bracewell is a strong firm with a deep bench. The team understand the technical aspects of transactions and are able to succinctly boil down the main points.

Chambers Global, 2023

Market-Leading Engagements

We have extensive experience on a diverse range of oil and gas matters.

Alinda Capital Partners in the sale of NorTex Midstream Partners, LLC, a company owned by funds managed by Alinda that own Texas gas storage facilities, to a subsidiary of Castleton Commodities International LLC
Anadarko Moçambique Area 1, Limitada in multiple aspects of the multi-train $15 billion+ Mozambique LNG export project, including on the complex unitization of straddling reservoirs and the development of common facilities
Anglo Tunisian Oil & Gas Limited in the acquisition of Medco Tunisia, a seven asset upstream oil and gas business in Tunisia, including the associated acquisition financing
Apache Corporation in the creation of $3.5 billion midstream company with Kayne Anderson Acquisition Corp., forming the only publicly traded, pure-play Permian Basin midstream company that is a C-corporation
Apache Corporation in the $800 million sale of its entire Argentina business to YPF
Apache Corporation in the $612 million asset sales in the Western Anadarko Basin and the SCOOP/STACK play
Apache Corporation in the sale of multiple UK North Sea upstream oil and gas assets to Chrysaor Limited
COG Operating LLC in the contribution of 13 salt water disposal wells and approximately 40 miles of large-diameter produced water gathering pipelines to Solaris Water Midstream, LLC in exchange for cash and equity in Solaris Midstream Holdings, LLC

Delfin LNG in relation to the development of its 13 MPTA floating LNG project in the Gulf of Mexico, which will be the first floating LNG project in North America
Eni Petroleum US LLC in its acquisition of 70 percent and operatorship of the Oooguruk oil field in Alaska from Caelus Natural Resources Alaska, LLC
Eni S.p.A. in the sale to Qatar Petroleum of a 35 percent interest in the Area 1 development in Mexico, which holds an estimated 2.1 billion barrels of oil
Eni S.p.A. in the $934 million sale of a participating interest in the Egyptian Shorouk Concession, containing the Zohr gas field, to Mubadala Petroleum
Entity affiliated with GeoSouthern Energy Corp. in an upstream joint venture with a subsidiary of The Williams Companies, Inc. for the acquisition of an interest in and development of Williams’ South Mansfield Assets in the Haynesville Shale
EOG Resources, Inc. in the expansion and development of its upstream oil and gas business in Trinidad, including the acquisition of assets from bp
Etablissements Maurel & Prom S.A. in the acquisition of producing interests offshore Angola from a Mitsubishi Corporation subsidiary
Etablissements Maurel and Prom S.A. on its acquisition of participating interests in two upstream oil and gas concessions offshore Angola from a Mitsubishi Corporation subsidiary, AJOCO
Genel Energy plc in the acquisition of interests in the Chevron-operated Sarta and Qara Dagh blocks in the Kurdistan region of Iraq
German LNG Terminal GmbH, a joint venture between Royal Vopak, Gasunie and Oiltanking, in connection with the first LNG import terminal in Germany (in the port of Hamburg)
Global Infrastructure Partners in its contribution of $200+ million Bakken water gathering and disposal system to Hess Infrastructure Partners, a joint venture between Global Infrastructure Partners and Hess Corporation
Halcón Resources Corporation in its $325 million divestiture of all water infrastructure assets across the Delaware Basin to a subsidiary of WaterBridge Resources LLC
Holly Energy Partners in its $2.6 billion combination with Sinclair Transportation
Holly Energy Partners, L.P. in the formation of a 50/50 joint venture, Cushing Connect Pipeline & Terminal LLC, with Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. for the purpose of owning and operating a crude oil terminal in Cushing, Oklahoma and constructing, owning and operating a crude oil pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma to Tulsa, Oklahoma
HPS Investment Partners, LLC and Kingfisher Midstream, LLC in the merger agreement among Kingfisher, Silver Run Acquisition Corporation II and Alta Mesa Holdings, LP to combine and form Alta Mesa Resources, Inc.
Impact Oil & Gas Ltd in the sales and acquisitions in Senegal-Guinea Bissau AGC, Namibia, Gabon and South Africa, as well as in connection with an underwritten fundraising by means of an open offer of shares and warrants
Kinder Morgan, Inc. in the investment among Kinder Morgan Texas Pipeline LLC, DCP Midstream, LP and an affiliate of Targa Resources for the $1.7 billion Gulf Coast Express Pipeline Project, designed to transport up to 1.92 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas
Kinder Morgan, Inc. and Kinder Morgan Canada Limited in its $1.546 billion sale of the US portion of the Cochin Pipeline to Pembina Pipeline Corporation and US counsel to KML in concurrent sale of all outstanding KML common equity to Pembina
Navigator CO2 Ventures LLC in the development of an industrial scale carbon capture pipeline system of more than 1,200 miles of new carbon dioxide gathering and transportation pipelines across five Midwest states (Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota and Illinois) with the capability of permanently storing up to 5 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide per year
Ophir Energy plc in the $2 billion floating LNG project offshore Equatoreal Guinea
Ophir Energy plc in the sale of its interest in Block 5 in the Salina Basin offshore Mexico, which includes the Cholula discovery, to Murphy Oil Corporation, Petronas and Wintershall-DEA
Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. in the acquisition of 100 percent of the equity interests in U.S. Oil & Refining Co. and certain affiliated entities for $358 million, including a 42,000 bpd refinery, a marine terminal and associated logistical system in Tacoma, Washington
Phillips 66 in the formation of Bluewater Texas Terminal LLC, a joint venture with Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd., to develop an offshore deepwater port project in the Port of Corpus Christi
Phillips 66 Partners in the development of the Gray Oak Project, a new crude oil pipeline project to bring crude oil from the Permian Basin in West Texas to market destinations in Corpus Christi and the Houston area
Pioneer Natural Resources in the sale of approximately 20,000 net acres in western Glasscock County to Laredo Petroleum
Pioneer Natural Resources Company in the divestiture of its pressure pumping assets to ProPetro Holding Corp. in exchange for total cash and stock consideration of $400 million and entry into a 10 year pressure pumping and related services agreement with ProPetro
Sabalo Energy, LLC in the divestiture of produced water gathering and recycling infrastructure assets in the Midland Basin to H₂O Midstream LLC, including negotiation of long-term produced water gathering, disposal and recycling agreements
Savannah Energy Plc on material aspects of its purchase and re-organization of the Seven Energy Group by means of a pre-pack administration — Restructuring Deal of the Year, 2020 IFLR Sub-Saharan Africa Awards
SemGroup Europe Holding L.L.C. in the sale of SemLogistics Milford Haven Limited, a petroleum terminal and storage business located in South Wales, to Valero Logistics UK Limited
SPE Guinea Bissau AB, a wholly owned subsidiary of Svenska Petroleum Exploration AB, in an agreement to sell participating interests in the Sinapa and Esperança oil and gas licences, offshore Guinea Bissau, to CNOOC
Svenska Petroleum Exploration in the agreement to sell participating interests in the Sinapa and Esperança oil and gas licenses, offshore Guinea Bissau, to CNOOC
TC Energy Corporation, as US counsel in connection with the Government of Alberta’s $1.1 billion equity investment and $4.2 billion loan guarantee to support construction of the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline
TC Energy Corporation in the approximately $1.275 billion sale of US midstream assets held by its subsidiary, Columbia Midstream Group, to a subsidiary of UGI Corporation
VTTI Energy Partners LP, acting for the Conflicts Committee in relation to the MLP “drop down” transactions for an aggregate of $170 million and the “take private” buyout of public unit holders