© 2014 The Texas Lawbook.
By Brooks Igo
(February 5) – Ten months after leaving Andrews Kurth to go inside a corporate legal department, Drew Baldinger has returned to the Houston-based firm as a partner.
Baldinger, an energy lawyer, oversaw all legal issues and was a member of senior management at South Louisiana Methanol, an Austin-based $2 billion greenfield gas-to-methanol development.
In his career – which includes stops at Akin Gump and Skadden Arps – Baldinger has amassed significant expertise on gas-to-liquids and project finance deals. He said he decided to move back to Andrews Kurth because of the firm’s “deep experience in every facet of the energy industry.”
The University of Texas School of Law graduate expects the firm’s “oil and gas clients will be evaluating capital projects in light of the global oil market dynamics, and opportunities to take advantage of asset divestiture markets.” He says he and his clients will also be monitoring changes in the industry relating to the gas supply markets that drive LNG, Petchem and other GTL projects.
“These projects will likely monitor competition for craft labor closely, while benefiting from the U.S. gas supply and a potentially favorable capital formation environment,” he said. “Petchem projects are looking to replicate the capital formation that has been successfully achieved by the LNG industry.”
Baldinger says his experience in-house at South Louisiana Methanol will increase the value that he can provide his clients.
“I had to understand how commercial drivers steer negotiations for several aspects of a limited-recourse project,” he said. “I believe that this understanding provides the foundation to appropriately prioritizing deal risks, so that I can advise clients on those risks that should not delay closing a deal.”
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