Boone Pickens isn’t the only person to recently grace the tiny town of Pecos with his presence in search of some oil. Midland-based Diamondback Energy said Wednesday that it is purchasing $2.43 billion worth of assets in West Texas’ Reeves and Pecos counties from Brigham Resources Operating and Brigham Resources Midstream.
V&E Advises in $1.76B Oilfield Services Merger
Houston-based Patterson-UTI Energy has agreed to acquire Oklahoma City-based Seventy Seven Energy in an all-stock transaction valued at $1.76 billion, which will continue Patterson-UTI’s momentum as one of the leading high-spec oil rig makers in the country, the companies said this week.
V&E Advises in $1.76B Oilfield Services Merger
Houston-based Patterson-UTI Energy has agreed to acquire Oklahoma City-based Seventy Seven Energy in an all-stock transaction valued at $1.76 billion, which will continue Patterson-UTI’s momentum as one of the leading high-spec oil rig makers in the country, the companies said this week.
T&K Closes Two Mexico Energy Reform Bids
Lawyers from Thompson & Knight’s Dallas and Mexico offices recently worked on some of the most historic and highly-anticipated deals in Mexico in wake of the country’s 2013 energy reforms. One was for BHP Billiton, which won the right from Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) to develop the Trion field in the Gulf of Mexico. The other was for China Offshore Oil Corporation E&P Mexico’s (CNOOC) obtainment of two license agreements from the National Hydrocarbons Commission in the oil-rich Perdido Basin.
T&K Closes Two Mexico Energy Reform Bids
Lawyers from Thompson & Knight’s Dallas and Mexico offices recently worked on some of the most historic and highly-anticipated deals in Mexico in wake of the country’s 2013 energy reforms. One was for BHP Billiton, which won the right from Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) to develop the Trion field in the Gulf of Mexico. The other was for China Offshore Oil Corporation E&P Mexico’s (CNOOC) obtainment of two license agreements from the National Hydrocarbons Commission in the oil-rich Perdido Basin.
Texas Supreme Court Changes Mind, Tackles Arbitration Appeal
The Texas Supreme Court has agreed to hear Forest Oil’s challenge to a $16 million arbitration award over drilling waste pollution on the 27,000-acre McAllen Ranch in Hidalgo County. The neutrality of an arbitrator and the panel’s jurisdiction over the dispute are among the issues raised in a long-running dispute that has been before the Supreme Court previously, producing a 2008 decision that allowed the arbitration to proceed.
Fifty-Five Minutes at the Fifth Circuit – Trinity Industries Meets a ‘Hot Panel’ in Highway Guardrail Case
Trinity Industries told a Fifth Circuit panel last week that the record-smashing $663 million judgment against it should be reversed because any alleged violations of the False Claims Act regarding its highway guardrail design were inadvertent, minor and immaterial. “You say they are minor and they say they are killer,” Judge Patrick Higginbotham shot back. “I mean, come on.”
For 55 minutes last Wednesday, a three-judge panel showed that oral arguments intended to focus on lofty legal principles can be turned upside town when the judges instead decide to closely examine facts and evidence. This article examines the Fifth Circuit’s concerns in the Trinity FCA case, Trinity’s response and whether oral argument before a so-called “hot panel” of judges even matters.
Houston Chronicle: Cameron drops non-compete suit after judge’s ruling
Houston Houston-based Cameron International dropped a non-compete lawsuit against FMC Technologies Singapore after a federal judge determined Cameron’s non-compete agreement was overly broad and couldn’t be used to stop an ex-Cameron employee from working for Houston-based FMC Technologies. A similar non-complete case brought by Schlumberger against National Oilwell Varco is scheduled for trial in February in Harris County district court.
Analysis: Trinity Industries Met a Buzz Saw at Fifth Circuit in Historic FCA Highway Guardrail Case
Trinity Industries believed the conservative, pro-business Fifth Circuit was its protective barricade against a massive $663 million False Claims Act judgment facing the Dallas-based company. But for 55 minutes Wednesday, the appeals court appeared to be more of a buzz saw than a shield for Trinity.
“The arguments you are making are not necessarily a winning argument,” Judge E. Grady Jolly told Trinity’s lawyers. The Fifth Circuit panel repeatedly raised doubts about Trinity’s legal and factual arguments. The Texas Lawbook has complete details.
Analysis – Fifth Circuit Limits the Sherman Act: ‘Disreputable’ is not ‘Anticompetitive’
The federal appeals court has reversed a $340 million antitrust judgment and placed significant limits on the activity to which antitrust laws apply. This case is a forceful reminder that a good business tort claim does not equate to a good antitrust claim – or, even any antitrust claim at all. It is also a reminder of two broader points about how the Fifth Circuit approaches business tort claims arising from federal law.