Practice Expertise

  • Commercial Law
  • Energy
  • Oil & Gas
  •  

Areas of Practice

  • Commercial Law
  • Energy
  • Oil & Gas
  •  

WSG Practice Industries

WSG Leadership

  • WSG Coronavirus Task Force Group - Member

Profile

Paul advises clients on drafting and negotiating agreements for the acquisition and divestiture of oil and gas assets (A&D), drafting and negotiating joint venture, partnership and joint operating agreements for the operation of oil and gas assets and due diligence and title opinion preparation in relation to A&D. Paul's practice is focused exclusively on oil and gas matters. The significant concentration of Paul's oil and gas focused practice, allows him to provide his clients with timely, detailed and thoughtful assistance in energy matters.

He also provides advice relating to day to day disputes and issues with joint venture participants and royalty owners of oil and gas properties, due diligence and preparation of closing documentation in relation to A&D, and historical title review and drilling opinion preparation relating to freehold lands.

Prior to joining Lawson Lundell, Paul was a founding partner of EnerLAW LLP in 2006, a Calgary-based law firm focusing primarily on the energy industry. Previous to that, Paul was with Thackray Burgess (now McMillan LLP).

Bar Admissions
Alberta (1994)

Education
University of Calgary (LL.B., 1993)
University of Calgary (B.A. PolSci, 1990)

Areas of Practice

  • Commercial Law
  • Energy
  • Oil & Gas

Professional Career

Significant Accomplishments
Title due diligence on behalf of Direct Energy Marketing Limited's (Centrica PLC) in respect of the $1 billion dollar acquisition of Suncor Energy Inc.'s WSB natural gas assets. (Jan "€œ March 2013).

Lead counsel for Long Run Exploration Ltd. in a $180 million dollar sale to Teine Energy Ltd. (West Central Area, Saskatchewan).

Lead counsel for Corex Resources Ltd. in a $220 million dollar purchase from Enerplus Corporation (Manitoba lands).

Professional Associations
*University of Calgary Faculty of Management, "PLMA477 - Introduction to Agreements", 2004 to present, Instructor
*CAPL; "Freehold Mineral Lease", 2001 to present, Instructor and Materials writer
*CAPL Negotiator Magazine, Periodic contributor

Recognition and Ranking
*2011 Friend of CAPL Award

Professional Activities
*University of Calgary Faculty of Management, "PLMA477 - Introduction to Agreements", 2004 to present, Instructor
*CAPL; "Freehold Mineral Lease", 2001 to present, Instructor and Materials writer
*CAPL Negotiator Magazine, Periodic contributor

Seminars/ Presentation
American Association of Petroleum Landman (AAPL) June 2014 Conference Presenter, "From Mooses to Molasses, Oil and Gas Rights in Canada: Dealing With the Crown and Freeholders” (June 2014)

Canadian Association of Petroleum Landmen (CAPL) November General Meeting, Calgary (November 20, 2013), Speaker

"Beyond OMERs - Current Issues of Concern in Freehold Leasing", Scott Land and Lease Ltd. Freehold Lunch n' Learn
(March 21, 2013), Presenter


Articles

Licensee Liability Rating Programs in the WSB (September 21, 2014), Speaker

From Mooses to Molasses: Oil and Gas Rights in Canada: Dealing with the Crown and Freeholders, Presentation delivered at AAPL's 60th Annual Meeting (June 27, 2014)

"Encana’s PrairieSky Royalty deal moves heaven and earth", Financial Post (April 2014), Quoted

"Jensen - Redux", The Negotiator (January 2014), Author

"A Cautionary Tale Regarding Unitization and EOR Schemes", The Negotiator (December 2013), Author

Death of the Spacing Unit, Paper presented at CAPL General Meeting (November 20, 2013)

"The Curious Case of Jensen", The Negotiator (September 2013), Author

"The Lonely Vertical Wellbore", The Negotiator (February 2013), Author

Lawson Lundell LLP Welcomes Members of the EnerLAW Team to our Calgary Office (February 1, 2013)

"The White Map Asset Sale - Future Trend or Dead End?", The Negotiator (November 2012), Author

"What the #@$% Happens if Gas Goes Below $2.00", The Negotiator (June 2012), Author

"No, That is Not Good Enough - Partnership Contribution Transactions and the Notice to Industry", The Negotiator (May 2012), Author

"Production Allocation Unit Agreements - The Single Well Unit", The Negotiator (April 2012), Author

"Game Changer - OMERS Alberta Court of Appeal Decision and the CAPL Shut-In Clause", The Negotiator (November 2011), Author

"Saskatchewan Shallow Rights Fee Simple Stealing (Why Does Something From 1974 Matter Today?)", The Negotiator (October 2011), Author

"Why is the Crown Stealing From Fee Owners? (Alberta Bills 24 and 26 Proclaimed into Law)", The Negotiator (March 2011), Author

"The Allocation Dilemma - ROFR Values on Package Sales", The Negotiator (January 2011)

"Is "Producible" Even a Word? (Bearspaw Gets a Freehold Lease Win)", The Negotiator (November 2010), Author

"The Saskatchewan LLR Program, One Year In", The Negotiator (June 2010), Author

"From a Well on the Lands at the End of the Primary Term, The Negotiator (March 2010), Author

"Segregation and NOAs: Are You Doing Enough or Too Much?", The Negotiator (January 2010), Author

"Was It Meaningful For You? (ERCB Decides what "Capable of Production" Means in the CAPL Form of Lease)"", The Negotiator (December 2009), Author

"Abandoned Well Liability in Alberta (Regulatory vs. Contractual Obligations)", The Negotiator (October 2009), Author

"Is The Board Bored (ERCB Closure Order on a Drilled Well Due to a Perhaps Invalid Freehold Lease)", The Negotiator (May 2009), Author

"Remise, Release and Forever Discharge...Not (Surface Owner Releases and the Courts)", The Negotiator (March 2009), Author

"The ERCB LLR Trap (Am I My Brother's LLR Keeper?)", The Negotiator (January 2009)

"Prior ROFRs and Subsequent Non-Cross Conveyed Poolings (To Supersede or Not to Supersede, That is the Question)", The Negotiator (November 2008), Author

"Lazy Man's Option - Future Dating The 91 CAPL Lease Form - Bad, Bad, Bad", The Negotiator (September 2008), Author

"Production Allocation Unit Agreements (The Single Well Unit)", The Negotiator (June 2008), Author

"I'm Capable of Anything (The Shut-In Well Clause in the 1991 CAPL Lease)", The Negotiator (May 2008), Author

"It Can't Be Dead, We're Paying! - Compensatory Royalty Payments and Lease Continuation under the 1991 CAPL Lease" (February 2008), Author

"But You Didn't Ask Me to Pay! - Triggering Offset Well Payments under the 1991 CAPL Lease", The Negotiator (December 2007), Author

Meet our Firms and Professionals

WSG’s member firms include legal, investment banking and accounting experts across industries and on a global scale. We invite you to meet our member firms and professionals.