Methane emissions are a sticky business in Texas, especially in the Permian where the colorless, odorless substance is simply a by-product of exploration and production for oil and gas on a massive scale. An $88 million satellite set into orbit in March, however, has begun to visualize and quantify the problem. The picture isn’t pretty. But situation is complicated, as the CDT Roundup reports this week — along with its usual survey of transactions.
How Instant Brands Went From Victim to Accused, According to Bankruptcy Trustee
A New York firm apparently victimized by questionable bookkeeping in an M&A deal was accused by a bankruptcy trustee last week of using that same questionable bookkeeping to pay $345 million in dividends to itself and its investors from a fraudulently obtained loan.
FourPoint Acquires $2B in Uinta Assets from Ovintiv
Denver-based Ovintiv was also involved on the buyer side of a $2B+ purchase of Canadian upstream assets in the Alberta Montney Basin. More than 50 V&E, Kirkland, Latham and Gibson Dunn lawyers were involved.
Coterra Acquires Permian Assets for $3.95 Billion
Gibson Dunn advised Coterra and Kirkland advised two Denver-based sellers, Franklin Mountain Energy and Avant Natural Resources, on two separate deals involving as many as 550 net well locations and 125 miles of pipeline in New Mexico.
Clay Pulliam Laterals to Locke Lord CRE Practice
Locke Lord, soon to become Troutman Pepper Locke, announced Monday its hiring of Clay Pulliam to its commercial real estate practice. Pulliam had been a member at Frost Brown Todd since September 2021.
CDT Roundup: 14 Deals, 12 Firms, 139 Lawyers, $2.1B
Elections mean change, and change is good, right? Maybe so, but there are concerns that a new administration might be inclined to make dramatic changes in policies regarding energy and manufacturing that have been the basis for billions in equity investments. Comments made by the president-elect shortly before the election have some worried that the seemingly uncontroversial CHIPS and Science Act could be in the crosshairs. The CDT Roundup looks at that concern and what the CHIPS Act has meant already to Texas. That and the usual roll call of last week’s transactions.
David Aaronson Moves to O’Melveny
Aaronson, a veteran of O&G transactions in the upstream and midstream sectors, departs Orrick where he landed in 2022.
CDT Roundup: 12 Deals, 11 Firms, 107 Lawyers, $52.8B
A $50 billion data center joint venture is nothing to ignore. Neither are the footnotes that occasionally accompany a monumental deal. The CDT Roundup this week looks at the big numbers that are building up around AI-driven data centers, and a few tiny cautions about what to expect of them. FYI, we didn’t ignore our usual roster of last week’s deals — even those under $50 billion.
Kirkland Advises on $1.25B Sale of EQT Marcellus Assets
The purchase follows — and completes — a swap agreement announced in April in which EQT exchanged a 40 percent interest in those same assets for Equinor’s assets in the Appalachian Basin and $500 million in cash.
Seyfarth Snags Energy Trio from Polsinelli
Partner Chris Cottrell and associates Michael Szymanski and Xiaoming Gao will launch an energy transition practice at the firm’s Houston office.