Three deals totaling $7.3 billion announced within 24 hours of each other show that dealmaking is picking up in the oil and gas sector. Two involved midstream assets and the other involved oil and gas properties in the Midland Basin of West Texas.

In his first in-depth interview since the move, Wheeler talks about why he joined Kirkland, what he aims to accomplish and how he sees the M&A and capital markets landscapes shaking out for the energy industry.

The deal spigot was full-blast this past week, with 16 transactions announced worth $68.6 billion – a weekly record for the year. Eleven law firms and 106 lawyers in Texas were involved.

Private equity firm First Reserve said Monday it agreed to sell Deep Gulf Energy Cos. to publicly traded Kosmos Energy for $1.225 billion, signifying the buyer’s entry into the Gulf of Mexico. Claire Poole has the rundown.