Simpson Thacher & Bartlett announced on Tuesday that Houston energy deal partner Chris Bennett has joined the firm from Latham & Watkins.
Bennett represents companies, private equity sponsors and other investors on mergers and acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures and other transactions across the energy sector, with a focus on upstream oil and gas and midstream assets.
“Chris is a rising star and will be an excellent complement to our incredibly talented energy and infrastructure practice, which advises investors across the energy value chain, including in oil and gas, renewables and energy transition,” Robert Rabalais, head of the firm’s Houston office, said in a statement.
Bennett co-led the Latham deal team that advised EQT Corp., the country’s largest gas producer, in its $2.9 billion acquisition in May of 300,000 acres in the Marcellus Shale from Houston-based Alta Resources.
In the first quarter, the Tulane law grad also played a leading role in Murphy Oil’s sale of its 50% interest in the King’s Quay floating production system in the Gulf of Mexico to a joint venture between affiliates of Arclight Capital Partners and Ridgewood Energy. Bennett and Latham advised Arclight in the $270 million deal.
Last year, Bennett was one of the lead partners representing Solaris Water Midstream, an independent provider of frac-water resources, in expanding a joint venture agreement with Concho Resources for fracking operations in New Mexico. He was also on the Latham roster advising Houston-based Sable Permian Resources in its Chapter 11 restructuring.
Bennett was minted a partner by Latham in 2019. Since then he has worked on deals for Epic, Hess and Castleton Commodities, in addition to the aforementioned deals.