Practice Expertise

  • Energy
  • Energy M&A
  • Corporate
  • Mergers and Acquisitions

Areas of Practice

  • Corporate
  • Energy
  • Energy M&A
  • Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Natural Gas
  • Oil, Gas and LNG
  • Renewable Energy and Clean Power
  • Solar
  • View More

Profile

Hal is co-lead of the firm’s Oil and Gas practice group.

Hal has broad experience in the energy industry. He represents clients in mergers and acquisitions transactions that involve companies in all aspects of the energy business, including oil and gas companies, natural gas pipeline companies, and companies owning and operating refineries, petrochemical plants and gathering, processing and other midstream facilities. Hal also has extensive experience in other energy transactions, including forming joint venture companies to engage in the foregoing businesses and drafting and negotiating purchase and sale agreements, merger agreements, joint venture agreements, limited liability company agreements, partnership agreements, exploration and development agreements, participation agreements, joint operating agreements, drilling contracts, gas gathering agreements, processing agreements, fractionation agreements, and transportation agreements. Hal also has extensive experience in working on the foregoing matters for oil and gas shale properties, including the Barnett Shale, Eagle Ford Shale, Marcellus Shale, Utica Shale, and Haynesville Shale plays. Prior to becoming an attorney, Hal worked as a petroleum engineer in Houston.

Representative Experience

Recent Upstream M&A and JV Work

  • Represented Tokyo Gas America Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., in its acquisition, through its affiliate, of a 30% equity interest in Castleton Resources LLC, a subsidiary of Castleton Commodities International LLC, formed to acquire and develop oil and gas assets in East Texas and Louisiana
  • Represented private oil and gas company in the acquisition of Anadarko Basin oil and gas properties from major public oil and gas company for $385 million
  • Represented Hilcorp Energy Company in the acquisition of South Texas oil and gas properties from major public oil and gas company
  • Represented Hilcorp Energy Company in the formation of a $1.24 billion joint venture with private equity firm to acquire North American oil and gas properties
  • Represented private oil and gas company in the acquisition of Anadarko Basin oil and gas properties from major public oil and gas company for $840 million
  • Represented private oil and gas company in the acquisition of Mid-Continent oil and gas properties and midstream assets for $1.95 billion
  • Represented Hilcorp Energy Company in the acquisition of Alaska North Slope oil and gas properties from BP PLC
  • Represented Hilcorp Energy Company in the acquisition of South Texas oil and gas properties from major public oil and gas company
  • Represented Hilcorp Energy Company in the formation of a joint venture with the Carlyle Group to develop Utica Shale leases
  • Represented Hilcorp Energy Company in sale of Gulf of Mexico shelf oil and natural gas interests to EPL Oil & Gas for $550 million
  • Represented Hilcorp Energy Company in its acquisition of oil and gas assets in the Cook Inlet of Alaska from Marathon Oil Corporation
  • Represented EOG Resources, Inc. in its sale of Eagle Ford Shale oil and gas properties for $100 million
  • Represented publicly traded oil and gas company in the formation of joint venture with foreign investor to explore and develop Tuscaloosa Marine Shale leasehold position
  • Represented private oil and gas company with significant Mid Continent leasehold position in Oklahoma and Texas in merger with major public oil and gas company for $2.8 billion
  • Represented Hilcorp Energy Company in sale of Eagle Ford Shale assets to Marathon Oil Corporation for $3.5 billion
  • Represented EOG Resources, Inc. in the sale of New Mexico oil and gas producing properties to public master limited partnership
  • Represented private oil and gas company in creating new joint venture company with major private equity firm to drill and develop more than 140,000 acres of Eagle Ford Shale leasehold in South Texas
  • Represented independent public oil and gas company in negotiating participation agreements to own and develop Haynesville shale assets in East Texas
  • Represented major private equity firm in significant investment in private oil and gas company to drill and develop large Eagle Ford shale leasehold position

Recent Midstream and Pipeline M&A and JV Work

  • Represented private oil and gas company in the acquisition of South Louisiana crude oil gathering and transportation pipeline system from publicly held energy company
  • Represented private oil and gas company in the formation of a joint venture with a private equity firm to acquire and own crude oil gathering and transport pipelines
  • Represented public energy company in negotiating an omnibus gas gathering and processing agreement for producing oil and gas properties in the DJ Basin in Colorado
  • Represented private midstream oil and gas company in connection with formation and sale of interests in a $1 billion joint venture involving a south Texas crude oil and condensate gathering and transportation pipeline system
  • Represented a large master limited partnership in negotiating gas gathering agreements and other commercial agreements in the Eagle Ford Shale, Marcellus Shale, Niobrara Shale, Haynesville Shale and Utica Shale plays in connection with its acquisition of $2.7 billion of assets from a publicly held energy company
  • Represented public interstate pipeline company in acquisition from private equity firm of significant Marcellus gas gathering businesses and assets in Pennsylvania and New York for $750 million
  • Represented public midstream company in negotiating 20-year gas gathering agreement with public oil and gas company to gather more than 1 Bcf per day of Barnett shale gas production
  • Represented a large public interstate natural gas company in the sale and merger of regulated interstate pipeline company for over $3 billion
  • Represented public midstream company in acquisition of Louisiana gas processing plant from public oil and gas company
  • Represented private independent energy company in the sale of Eagle Ford shale gas gathering system and related midstream assets in South Texas to public energy company
  • Represented public petrochemical company in creating joint venture company with public master limited partnership to own and operate interstate NGL pipeline in Texas and Louisiana
  • Represented a major public energy company in the sale and merger of regulated subsidiary owning large interstate natural gas pipeline for over $1 billion

Other Energy Work

  • Represented foreign company in negotiating LNG offtake arrangements for new LNG liquefaction facility
  • Represented public petrochemical company in the acquisition of PVC specialty manufacturing business from large French company
  • Represented private oil and gas company in the sale of $300 million volumetric production payment and related derivative contracts
  • Represented major petrochemical company in the development and construction of new ethylene plant and related pipelines
  • Represented private developer in the development and construction of new underground gas storage facility
  • Represented large public energy company in the development and sale of six peaker power plants

Education
BS, Texas A&M University, Petroleum Engineering, 1982

Areas of Practice

  • Corporate
  • Energy
  • Energy M&A
  • Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Natural Gas
  • Oil, Gas and LNG
  • Renewable Energy and Clean Power
  • Solar

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