Editorial: Oil & Gas in Texas

01 May 2007

This chapter identifies 28 lawyers with proven expertise representing major, independent and state oil and gas companies, and financiers involved in the exploration, production, marketing and transportation of crude oil, natural gas and LNG. Their practices are not confined to the state and many of them work across political and geographical boundaries and advise on a myriad of matters from upstream development, including exploration, development and production, to downstream matters, such as distribution, pipelines, retail supply, transportation and sales. Others are also well versed in the workings of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). 

When respondents to the survey were asked which firm they most admired for oil and gas related work two names were never far from their lips – Baker Botts LLP and Vinsons & Elkins LLP. The roots of Vinson & Elkins lie firmly in the oil and gas arena and it remains true to its origins, boasting an enviable list of blue-chip clients that include BG Group, Shell International, Halliburton and Kellogg Brown & Root, and Total Gas & Power North America. Recent highlights for the group include advising EXCO Resources on its $1.6 billion acquisition of Winchester Energy Company, a natural gas exploration and production business, from Progress Energy. The firm’s Texan offices are at the centre of a renowned international network, which was recently called upon by a consortium of Chinese oil companies acquiring oil and pipeline interests in Ecuador for $1.42 billion. Jay Kelley bases his practice in Houston and comes recommended for LNG terminalling and supply projects. Kelley’s CV includes representing a large energy company with the procurement and marketing of LNG imported into the US from Trinidad and Equatorial Guinea. Douglas Bland’s M&A and projects expertise was noted. He represented Direct Energy in its separate acquisitions of three gas-fired, combined cycle electric generating facilities: the Bastrop Energy Center, the Frontera Generating Facility, and the Paris Energy Center. Managing partner of the firm Joe Dilg was praised as “top-flight” and a “class act”. With such a strong contingent on the following pages ,V&E emerges as one of the go-to firms for oil and gas expertise. 

David Asmus is partner in charge of Baker Botts' “first rate group” which, according to our sources, boasts “a deep bench”. Asmus was the most nominated individual and he reportedly “knows his upstream all the way through to LNG”. A “very skilled negotiator”, he recently worked on one of the largest upstream asset sales conducted as a single process – Dominion’s divestiture of its US E&P business to Eni for approximately $4.76 billion. Asmus has also represented BP, Occidental Petroleum, Marathon Oil and Japan Energy, to name but a few. Head of Baker Botts’ Russia/CIS practice group, George Goolsby (based in the Moscow and Houston offices), possesses “high-level experience”. He was actively involved in the South Caucasus Gas Pipeline Project as well as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Main Oil Export Pipeline Project, which transports over one million barrels of crude oil a day from the Caspian Sea region to Europe and other markets. Michael Darden was praised as “very personable and a good addition to the team” following his move from Nuevo Energy, a client of the firm. Darden has strong international credentials, having worked on petroleum exploration, development and production projects in several regions.

Fulbright & Jaworski LLP is another firm with a proven track record in the industry, having represented over 1,000 energy-related clients since its foundation in 1919. Prominent on both a national and international scale, Fulbright lawyers work on transactions, litigation, regulation and dispute resolution within the energy arena. The firm provides four highly rated nominees in the following chapter. Co-chair of the firm’s energy practice group George Kutzschbach leads in the voting and boasts an “excellent reputation in Africa and the Middle East”. The “outstanding” Randel Young, a fluent Spanish speaker, was praised for his in-depth knowledge of the Central and South American markets. Brian Bradshaw was rated as “quite exceptional” by one prominent source. His 2006 lateral move has helped to boost Fulbright’s profile, and not only in these pages.

John Bowman is rated as “one of the most highly regarded energy disputes lawyers around”. He has worked in regions such as North and West Africa, the former Soviet Union and Latin America. 

King & Spalding LLP boasts a deep bench of outstanding oil and gas experts. Offices in many of the key markets also ensure that they are well placed to serve the needs of global energy clients such as Chevron and the Shell Oil. In Houston, Kenneth Culotta is “very bright and well thought of for LNG and general oil and gas”. In fact the firm’s LNG credentials were consistently recommended to researchers; and highlights for the group include advising Freeport LNG on the development of multiple LNG import terminals in Texas. The firm’s lawyers also advised on a joint venture formed by ChevronTexaco, ExxonMobil, BP, TotalFinaElf and Sonangol (the national oil company of Angola), regarding the development of an LNG facility in Angola. Doak Bishop joins Culotta in the chapter. A dispute resolution specialist, Bishop “knows all about oil and gas, investment and the general principles of law”. He was also described as “first-class, top of the line” and was fêted for his work on claims arising out of the Argentine economic crisis. Recently, a team led by Bishop won a $106 million investment treaty arbitration against Argentina on behalf of Enron for breach of the Argentine–US bilateral investment treaty. The firm's dispute resolution credentials were further bolstered by the August 2007 hire of John Bowman fron Fulbright & Jaworski LLP. Jose Valera was noted for exploration and production work in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Among other matters, Valera served as counsel to the Angola LNG project on all feeds gas supply matters as well as on the development of a network of gas gathering pipelines. He also represented the Bolivian Ministry of Capitalisation in connection with the privatisation of the integrated state oil and gas company, YPFB. Daniel Rogers is also well regarded, particularly for transactional and projectsrelated work. Representative matters include advising a multinational energy developer on a project in the Dominican Republic which involved the construction and project financing of an LNG receiving terminal, storage and regasification facilities, and a pipeline and gas-fired combined cycle power plant. 

John Cogan at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP heads the firm’s global projects group and he won considerable acclaim from our sources, who mentioned “vast experience, technical knowledge” and “expertise in handling and making projects actually happen”. Others complimented his LNG practice, citing his work for US parties in Algeria, in their dealings with a government oil entity relating to sale and purchase agreements, transportation agreements and dispute resolution. Jack Langlois a former colleague of Cogan's at Alkin Gump who recently moved to DLA Piper also comes highly recommended for both domestic and international work. Among other matters Langlois represented a Canadian company in its negotiations relating to the acquisition of a number of interstate natural gas pipelines. 

Thompson & Knight LLP also emerges from our research as one of the practice area’s most respected outfits. In 2006 the firm helped clients close over $10 billion in energy industry M&A transactions. Among other matters the firm is currently representing Sonangol on all matters relating to the $6.2 billion acquisition of a refinery as well as its LNG project. Andrew Derman leads the firm’s international energy group and is recommended for transactional matters. “One of the lead educators in the area of oil and gas agreements”, Derman is said to have “lots of energy”. Skip Maryan boasts over 30 years’ experience in the industry and is well known for his upstream work. Ben Welmaker is a “great guy with an excellent reputation”, particularly in West Africa, where he helped a client prepare the documentation to farm out interests in two offshore blocks in Nigeria. The firm is currently representing Brazil’s state oil company, Petrobras, in the development of oil and gas fields in Nigeria with investments of over $3 billion. They are also working with the company on new ventures in Libya, Egypt, Tanzania, Angola and Mauritania. 

Gaston Hemingway & Thanheiser was formed in March 1994 and focuses on substantive Texas oil and gas law. Praised as “extraordinary oil and gas lawyers for lease, title opinions and farm-outs” the partners are said to be “very good at what they do”. Two named partners appear on the following pages – Richard Hemmingway and Matthew Thanheiser – both of whom are “well known and well respected” within the industry. In addition to the firms featuring multiple nominees in the chapter, a number of outfits stand out thanks to the reputations of individual lawyers. John Mauel of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is a case in point. Recommended to researchers as “very good” and “extremely competent” his work in Latin America (particularly Mexico) was praised. Mauel focuses on financing, development and acquisition of reserves, pipelines and LNG receiving terminals, and among other matters he represented the leading Middle Eastern LNG exporting national oil company in relation to its LNG activities in North America. Bracewell & Giuliani LLP features thanks to the strong showing of Allan Rafte in the research. He heads the firm’s energy and finance practice and was described to researchers as a “traditional oil and gas lawyer”. Rafte is “well thought of ” according to sources and has represented more than 20 companies in the acquisition or divestiture of oil and gas properties and facilities in more than 70 transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $5 billion. Robert Bledsoe is a familiar name within the Texan oil and gas industry and a founding member of Cotton Bledsoe Tighe & Dawson PC. Sources highlighted Bledsoe’s title opinion work and he also has strong transactional and litigation credentials. Timothy Unger at Andrews Kurth LLP “is considered one of the best US project lawyers”, according to a prominent source. Unger also appears in the project finance chapter in this publication. He worked extensively on the $2.15 billion bond offering for Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass LNG project. Charles Moore of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP served as general counsel of the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from 1981 to 1983 and consequently has the reputation as an “authority on FERC matters”. He is also a “very good oil and gas litigator”. Mont Hoyt of Hoyt & Associates splits his time between transactional work and international arbitration in the oil and gas arena. A fluent French and Spanish speaker, Hoyt has worked extensively in Latin America, where he represented a US company regarding an oil and gas concession in Bolivia with an Argentine company. Hoyt also represented a state-owned Latin American oil company in the expansion of a $1.4 billion joint venture with a US oil company. William Weiland chairs the international practice at Winstead PC and completes our breakdown of Texas’s leading players. Weiland joined the firm in 2004 from his position as head of Vinson & Elkins’ Mexico office. He represents domestic clients on energy matters outside the US as well as foreign clients on issues within the country. Weiland has worked on projects in more than 70 nations during his career.

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