David Castro Jr., P.C.
Overview
David Castro Jr. is a corporate partner in the Houston office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. David’s practice focuses on mergers & acquisitions and the formation of joint ventures involving energy assets across the value chain, including traditional and renewable energy sources. David has represented clients in connection with the purchase and sale of a broad range of assets, including upstream and midstream oil and gas assets and companies, processing and fractionation facilities and specialty chemical businesses. David also regularly advises clients on joint development and farmout agreements, exchange agreements, gathering and processing agreements and other commercial arrangements concerning the development of oil and gas properties.
David has been recognized in Chambers Global for Energy: Oil & Gas Transactional (USA) for 2022–2024, and in Chambers USA for Energy: Oil & Gas — Transactional (Nationwide) for 2017–2023, with clients noting that he is “intelligent, analytical and thoughtful when working through a transaction. He is very commercially focused.”
Experience
Representative Matters
While at Kirkland, David has been involved in the following representations:
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Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE: NOG) in the formation of a $160 million drilling partnership with an undisclosed Appalachia operator.
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Apex Energy II, LLC in its $505 million sale of its Appalachian Basin natural gas upstream and associated midstream business to CNX Resources Corporation (NYSE: CNX).
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Crescent Energy Company (NYSE: CRGY) in its $905 million acquisition of Central Eagle Ford assets from Ridgemar Energy.
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Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE: OVV) in the $2 billion sale of its Uinta Basin assets to FourPoint Resources, LLC.
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Private equity-backed oil and gas company in its approximately $465 million acquisition of U.S. onshore assets from a private seller.
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Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE: NOG) in its $220 million acquisition of an undivided stake in certain Delaware Basin oil and gas assets of Point Energy Partners, LLC, in partnership with Vital Energy, Inc.
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Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN) in its $5 billion acquisition of the Williston Basin business of Grayson Mill Energy.
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SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) in its $2.55 billion acquisition of Uinta Basin assets from XCL Resources, LLC, and Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE: NOG) in its concurrent $510 million acquisition of an undivided 20% stake of the oil and gas assets of XCL Resources, LLC.
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Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE: NOG) in its acquisition of certain non-operated interests across ~3,000 net acres located primarily in Lea and Eddy Counties, New Mexico in the Northern Delaware Basin, from a private seller.
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Earthstone Energy, Inc. (NYSE: ESTE) and Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE: NOG) in their $1.5 billion Delaware Basin acquisition of oil and gas assets from Novo Oil & Gas Holdings, LLC.
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Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE: NOG) in its $162 million acquisition of an undivided stake in certain Delaware Basin oil and gas assets of Forge Energy II Delaware, LLC, in partnership with Vital Energy, Inc.
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Crescent Energy Company (NYSE: CRGY) in its $600 million acquisition of Western Eagle Ford assets from Mesquite Energy, Inc.
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Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE: OVV) in its $4.275 billion acquisition of all leasehold interest and related assets of Black Swan Oil & Gas, PetroLegacy Energy and Piedra Resources, and the concurrent $825 million sale of its Bakken assets.
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Quantum Energy Partners in its partnership with Bison Oil & Gas to form Bison Oil & Gas Partners IV, LLC with more than $500 million in equity capital commitments, and in closing multiple DJ Basin acquisitions.
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Delaware Basin Resources in its sale to VTX Energy Partners LLC, Vitol’s U.S. upstream company.
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Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE: NOG) in its $330 million acquisition of a 36.7% working interest in certain oil and gas leases and wells and associated midstream assets and infrastructure in Midland County, Texas, from Midland-Petro D.C. Partners, LLC.
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Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE: NOG) in its $130 million acquisition of certain non-operated interests in the Delaware Basin from a private seller.
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Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE: NOG) in its $157.5 million acquisition of certain non-operated interests in the Delaware Basin from Alpha Energy Partners.
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Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE: NOG) in its $110 million acquisition of Midland Basin oil and gas properties.
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Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) in its $1.8 billion acquisition of Validus Energy, an operator of Eagle Ford Shale assets.
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Mesa Royalties II in its acquisition of a mineral and royalty portfolio containing ~15,000 net royalty acres in the core of the Haynesville Shale from an undisclosed seller.
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NYSE-listed E&P company in its significant minority investment in PIN OAK Terminals.
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Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE: NOG) in its $170 million acquisition of working interest properties in the Williston Basin.
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National Fuel Gas Co. (NYSE:NFG) in the sale of Seneca’s California oil and gas assets to Sentinel Peak Resources California LLC for total consideration between $280 million and $310 million, depending on oil prices, and subject to customary closing adjustments.
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Crescent Energy Company (NYSE: CRGY) in its $815 million all-cash acquisition of Uinta Basin assets from Verdun Oil Company II LLC.
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Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE American: NOG) in its acquisition of non-operated Permian Basin assets owned by affiliates of Veritas Energy, LLC for $406.5 million, plus ~ 1.9 million common equity warrants with an exercise price of $28.30 per share.
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Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. in its $154 million acquisition of non-operated interests across over 400 producing wellbores primarily in Williams, McKenzie, Mountrail and Dunn counties in North Dakota.
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HG Energy II Appalachia, LLC/Quantum in the $400 million sale of certain oil & gas assets to an affiliate of Wincoram Asset Management.
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Indigo Minerals LLC in its $135 million sale of certain Cotton Valley upstream oil and gas assets and related facilities located primarily in the state of Louisiana to Diversified Gas & Oil plc.
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Mesa Minerals Partners, LLC in its sale of oil and gas mineral interests in the Haynesville natural gas play to a subsidiary of Franco-Nevada Corporation.
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QL Capital Partners in the formation of an up to $550 million drilling partnership with Antero Resources Corporation.
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Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. in its acquisition of certain non-operated natural gas assets in the Appalachian Basin from a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd.
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Callon Petroleum Company in capital structure initiatives used to reduce borrowings on Callon’s credit facility, including entering into a $140 million cash generating overriding royalty interest transaction with a private investment vehicle managed by Kimmeridge Energy, and a $300 million issuance of secured second lien notes and warrants.
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WPX Energy, Inc. (NYSE: WPX) in its $12 billion all-stock merger of equals with Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN).
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National Fuel Gas Company and affiliates Seneca Resources Company, LLC, NFG Midstream Covington, LLC and National Fuel Gas Midstream Company, LLC in the approximately $500 million (after closing adjustments) acquisition of upstream and midstream assets located in Pennsylvania from SWEPI LP, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc.
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WPX Energy, Inc. (NYSE: WPX) in its up to $300 million joint venture with an undisclosed private equity sponsor to fund drilling and completion-related capital expenditures with respect to non-operated properties in the Permian Basin.
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Publicly-traded E&P company in its $500 million joint venture with an undisclosed private equity sponsor to acquire minerals in the Permian Basin.
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BCE-Mach III LLC, an affiliate of Bayou City Energy Management and Mach Resources, in its acquisition of Alta Mesa Holdings, LP and its subsidiaries’ upstream oil and gas assets and Kingfisher Midstream, LLC and its subsidiaries’ midstream assets as part of the 363 sales process of the debtor sellers.
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KKR in connection with Spur Energy Partners LLC’s $925 million acquisition of assets in the New Mexico Shelf from Concho Resources Inc.
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BCE-Mach II LLC in its acquisition of producing properties in Oklahoma and Texas from an undisclosed seller.
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Private operator in its $165 million drilling participation arrangement with a Development Capital Resources-managed subsidiary, capitalized by funds managed by affiliates of Ares Management Corporation, to jointly develop drilling locations in the Permian Basin’s Wolfcamp formation
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Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. in its acquisition of properties in the Williston Basin from VEN Bakken, LLC for $165 million in cash, a $130 million 6 percent three-year senior unsecured note and approximately 5.6 million shares of common stock
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HG Energy II Appalachia, LLC/Quantum Energy Partners in the $400 million divestiture of producing, unconventional wellbores to Diversified Gas & Oil Corporation
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BCE-Mach LLC in the acquisition of Repsol E&P USA Inc.’s producing properties in Oklahoma and Kansas
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KKR/Venado Oil & Gas, LLC in the acquisition of operated assets in the Eagle Ford oil window of South Texas from Texas American Resources Company I, LLC
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Haymaker Resources and its sponsor KKR in the $404 million sale of oil and gas mineral and royalty interests to Kimbell Royalty Partners
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HG Energy II Appalachia, LLC/Quantum Energy Partners in its asset exchange transaction with CNX Resources Corp. and CNX Midstream Partners LP.
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KKR and Venado Oil & Gas, LLC in the $765 million acquisition of Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation’s developed and undeveloped oil and gas assets in the Eagle Ford Shale
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A PE-backed oil and gas company in the divestiture of multiple packages of mineral and royalty interests in the Permian Basin and Marcellus Shale
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A PE-backed oil and gas company in the acquisition of certain developed and non-developed assets in the Powder River Basin
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A large global investment fund in its formation of a drilling participation arrangement with SandRidge Energy to jointly develop up to $200M of wells in the NW STACK play
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KKR in its $625 million divestiture of certain Eagle Ford Shale assets owned by KKR and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation to WildHorse Development Corporation paid in cash and WRD common stock
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A private equity fund in its divestiture and unwind of multiple existing drilling partnerships
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A PE-backed oil and gas company in its drilling partnership to jointly develop oil and gas assets in the Utica Shale
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A PE-backed oil and gas company in the acquisition of certain producing properties in the Haynesville Shale
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HG Energy II Appalachia, LLC/Quantum Energy Partners in the $1.23 billion acquisition of Noble Energy, Inc.’s upstream assets in the Marcellus Shale
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KKR and Venado Oil and Gas, LLC in the proposed $300 million acquisition of certain of EXCO Resources, Inc.’s developed and non-developed oil and natural gas properties in South Texas
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A large global investment funds in its acquisition of undivided interests in the Permian Basin
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A large global investment fund in its acquisition of undivided interests in mineral and royalty interests and entry into a joint venture to acquire additional and manage additional assets
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A PE-backed oil and gas company in its substantial acquisition of certain non-operated oil and gas properties in the Eagle Ford Shale
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Indigo Haynesville in the acquisition from Chesapeake Energy Corp. of a portion of its acreage and producing properties in its Haynesville Shale operating area in northern Louisiana for approximately $450 million and associated placement of second lien and equity financing with a syndicate of private equity firms
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An independent oil and gas company in its formation of an acquisition partnership to acquire and jointly develop oil and gas assets in the Permian Basin
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A PE-backed oil and gas company in its divestiture of DJ Basin assets and entry into joint venture to acquire additional oil and gas assets
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A private equity fund in the unwind of an existing drilling partnership with a private oil and gas company and associated acquisition of additional working interest in the Eagle Ford Shale
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KKR and Haymaker Resources LP in the acquisition of Chesapeake Energy Corporation’s producing and non-producing mineral and royalty interests associated with over 8,500 wells across 24 states and 324 counties
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A large private global investment fund in its drilling participation arrangement with Gastar Exploration Inc., to jointly develop up to 60 Gastar-operated wells in the STACK play
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An independent oil and gas company in its $423 million acquisition of Devon Energy Corporation’s oil and gas properties in the southern Midland Basin
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TPG Special Situations Partners, LLC in its formation of a $400 million drilling partnership with Hunt Oil Company to jointly develop domestic unconventional resources in the Midland Basin
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Indigo Minerals LLC in its $375 million equity capital raise and the acquisition of certain producing and undeveloped Cotton Valley and Haynesville properties from a private exploration and development company
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An independent oil and gas company in its divestiture of undivided working interests in large-scale position in the Permian Basin
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Seneca Resources Corporation in its formation of drilling partnership with an affiliate of IOG Capital, LP and Fortress Investment Group, LLC to develop unconventional resources in Pennsylvania and the subsequent modified extension of the original joint development agreement
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KKR and Fleur de Lis Energy in the acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation’s CO2 enhanced oil recovery properties in the Powder River and Green River Basins of Wyoming
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GSO Capital Partners in its formation of a $500 million drilling partnership with Linn Energy to develop domestic unconventional resources
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A private equity fund in its formation of a drilling partnership to develop unconventional resources in South Texas
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KKR in its partnership with Anadarko Petroleum Corporation in the development of Anadarko’s acreage in the Eaglebine field located in South Texas
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KKR and Fleur de Lis Energy in the acquisition of LINN Energy’s Wolfberry positions in Ector and Midland counties in the Permian Basin
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East Resources, Inc. and a private oil company in the $1.75 billion divestiture of oil and gas assets in the Utica and Marcellus Shale to affiliates of American Energy Partners
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A PE-backed oil and gas company in the acquisition of Bakken Shale assets
Prior to joining Kirkland, David’s representative transactions included:
Mergers & Acquisitions
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A major oil company in its multiple acquisitions of Eagle Ford Shale oil and gas assets
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Marathon Oil Corporation in its $3.5 billion acquisition of Hilcorp Resources, LLC
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A major energy company in its acquisition of Barnett Shale assets
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A major oil company in its acquisition of midstream assets located in Eagle Ford Shale
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East Resources, Inc. in its $4.7 billion sale of its Appalachian oil and gas exploration and production business to a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc
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Dominion Resources, Inc. in its $3.5 billion sale of its Appalachian oil and gas exploration and production business to a subsidiary of CONSOL Energy, Inc.
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NextEra Energy Resources in its acquisition of Barnett Shale assets by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources
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EQT Corporation in its $230 million sale of a gas processing plant and associated midstream assets to a subsidiary of MarkWest Energy Partners
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An international oil company in its disposition of Gulf of Mexico exploration and production assets
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An international energy company in its internal restructuring and disposition of Gulf of Mexico exploration and production assets
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A major oil company in its proposed disposition of Haynesville Shale exploration and production assets
Energy Project Development
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A private equity fund in its formation of drilling partnership to develop Bakken Shale assets
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KKR in its formation of multiple drilling partnerships to develop Eagle Ford Shale assets
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A major chemical company in its formation of manufacturing joint venture to produce and market worldwide HSBC
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A major energy company in its proposed formation of joint venture to own and operate midstream assets located in Marcellus Shale
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An international energy company in its joint venture to acquire and develop Eagle Ford Shale assets
Prior Experience
Baker Botts L.L.P.
More
Thought Leadership
Publications
Energy: Oil & Gas 2024, Chambers and Partners: Law and Practice, August 2024 (Co-Author)
Energy: Oil & Gas 2023, Chambers and Partners: Law and Practice, August 2023 (Co-Author)
Energy: Oil & Gas 2022, Chambers and Partners: Law and Practice, August 2022 (Co-Author)
Energy: Oil & Gas 2021, Chambers and Partners: Law and Practice, August 2021 (Co-Author)
Oil And Gas Shut-Ins Risk Royalty Litigation, Law360, April 17, 2020 (Co-Author)
Dwindling Oil Storage Capacity and Impacts on Energy Companies, The Texas Lawbook, April 3, 2020 (Co-Author)
Energy: Oil & Gas 2020, Chambers and Partners: Law and Practice (Co-Author)
Energy: Oil & Gas 2019, Chambers and Partners: Law and Practice (Co-Author)
INSIGHT: Price Stabilization, Private Equity Engagement to Bolster Oil & Gas M&A Activity, Bloomberg Environment and Energy Report, October 4, 2018 (Co-Author)
Dealing with Midstream Commitments or Acquisitions as a Private Equity Purchaser, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, April 2018 (Co-Author)
Energy: Oil & Gas 2018, Chambers and Partners: Law and Practice (Co-Author)
7 Stages Of Grief: Impact Of Oil Downturn On Energy Attys, Law360, May 2016 (Co-Author)
“Trends and Issues with 'DrillCo' Transactions,” Texas Lawyer, November 2015 (Co-Author)
Seminars
Alternative Finance Structures for Oil & Gas Development: DrillCo Structures, Review of Oil & Gas Law XXX Seminar, Dallas Bar (August, 2015)
Recognition
Chambers USA, Energy: Oil & Gas — Transactional (Nationwide), 2020–2024
Chambers Global, Energy: Oil & Gas — Transactional (USA), 2022–2024
The Legal 500 U.S., Energy Transactions: Oil and Gas, Leading Lawyer, 2021–2024
IFLR1000, Mergers & Acquisitions, Highly Regarded, 2022–2024
Lawdragon, “500 Leaders in Energy,” 2023–2024
Super Lawyers, Texas Rising Stars, 2018–2023
IFLR1000, Mergers & Acquisitions, Rising Star, 2019–2021
The Legal 500 U.S., Energy Transactions: Oil and Gas, Next Generation Partner, 2017–2020 and M&A: Large Deals ($1bn+), 2019–2020
Chambers USA, Energy: Oil & Gas — Transactional (Nationwide), Up and Coming, 2017–2019
The Texas Lawyer, 2018 Professional Excellence Awards, "On the Rise"
Memberships & Affiliations
Houston Bar Association — Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Section
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- 2009Texas
Education
- University of Chicago Law SchoolJ.D.2009
- Duke UniversityB.A., History2006