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Energy – Upstream Oil & Gas

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Chambers USA: Energy: Oil & Gas: Transactional (Nationwide), 2014–2025

Since Vinson & Elkins was founded nearly a century ago, oil and gas clients have looked to us to handle their most complex transactions, projects, litigation, and regulatory inquiries. We provide our clients with extensive domestic and international oil and gas experience across all of the firm’s practice areas.

Chambers USA: Energy: Oil & Gas: Regulatory & Litigation (Nationwide), 2014–2025

Chambers USA: Oil & Gas Litigation (Nationwide), 2020–2025

V&E has an impressive track record in oil and gas mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, investments, and other strategic transactions. We rank among top law firms for highest volume (in quantity and in value) of energy M&A deals since 2005, according to Mergermarket. Astute in advising on all types of matters involving conventional and unconventional assets and drilling operations, our Oil and Gas team is well regarded for its technical prowess and understanding of the many effects market conditions have on our clients’ bottom line. We have extensive experience in assisting upstream clients with their initial public offerings and follow-on debt and equity offerings, in addition to providing corporate governance advice to both public and private exploration and production companies. Further, our Real Estate, Finance, and Tax teams assist clients in efficiently structuring new developments and refinancing existing properties.

Should oil and gas clients become involved in a dispute, appeal arbitration, or regulatory inquiry, V&E lawyers have a wealth of experience navigating these proceedings with an eye towards resolving the legal issue with minimal impact to business operations. In addition, we offer pre-litigation advice and counseling in relation to agreements, contracts, and pending or current investments, and counsel on compliance obligations under federal and state air, water, waste, and land use programs.

With an international network of offices, our team serves every major oil and gas hub throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America.

Transactions

  • Sitio Royalties Corp. in its $4.1 billion merger with Viper Energy

  • Endeavor Energy Resources in its $26 billion merger with Diamondback Energy

  • CrownRock, a joint venture of CrownQuest Operating and Lime Rock Partners, in its $12 billion sale to Occidental

  • Denbury Inc. in its $4.9 billion sale to ExxonMobil

  • Chord Energy in its $11 billion combination with Enerplus Corporation

  • Oasis Petroleum Inc. in a $6 billion merger of equals with Whiting Petroleum Corporation creating Chord Energy in 2022

  • DoublePoint Energy in its $6.4 billion sale to Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE: PXD) (2022 Finalist in D CEO’s $1 Billion + Deal of the Year Awards)

  • Pioneer Natural Resources in the $3.25 billion sale of its Delaware basin assets to Continental Resources

  • KKR in the $5.7 billion merger between Independence Energy and Contango to form Crescent Energy Company

  • Grayson Mill Holdings II, LLC and Grayson Mill Holdings III, LLC in the $5 billion sale to Devon Energy

  • EQT Corporation in the $1.8 billion acquisition of upstream and midstream oil and gas assets in Pennsylvania from Olympus Energy (pending)

  • Baytex Energy Corp. (TSX:BTE) in its $2.5 billion acquisition of Ranger Oil Corporation, a pure play Eagle Ford company

  • EnCap Investments L.P. in the $4.275 billion sale of substantially all leasehold interest and related assets of Black Swan Oil & Gas, PetroLegacy Energy and Piedra Resources, to Ovintiv Inc.

  • Quantum Capital Partners, QB Energy, KODA Resources in their $1.8 billion acquisition of oil and gas assets in the Piceance and Uintah Basins from Caerus Oil & Gas

  • Double Eagle IV MidCo, LLC, a private company backed by EnCap Investments L.P., in its entry into a definitive agreement to sell certain of its subsidiaries and assets to Diamondback E&P, LLC (NASDAQ: FANG), in exchange for approximately 6.9 million shares of FANG common stock and $3 billion of cash consideration, subject to customary adjustments

  • Earthstone Energy, a growth-oriented, independent energy company, in the $4.5 billion sale of the company to Permian Resources Corporation

  • Woodside Energy Group Ltd in its merger with BHP Petroleum with an approximately US $43 billion merged entity value and concurrent listing of American Depositary Shares (ADSs) on the NYSE

  • Noble Energy in its $13 billion sale to Chevron

  • HighPeak Energy Partners in the business combination with Pure Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition entity

  • Talos Energy in multiple acquisitions of U.S. Gulf of Mexico producing assets, exploration prospects and acreage from affiliates of ILX Holdings, Castex Energy and Venari Resources for $640 million

  • Jagged Peak Energy in its $2.27 billion merger with Parsley Energy 

  • WildHorse Resource Development in its $4 billion sale to Chesapeake Energy

  • Berry Petroleum Corporation in its $183 million initial public offering of common stock 

  • Jagged Peak Energy Inc. in its $474 million initial public offering of common stock

  • (Allegheny County, PA) – Representing upstream operator in defending and prosecuting breach of contract claims related to drilling operations in the Marcellus Shale

  • Representing consortia of international and domestic companies in two arbitrations arising out of a hugely successful oil field offshore India in connection with a series of profit sharing disputes with the Government of India; these are collectively valued at just short of $1 billion, and have spawned significant satellite litigation in the courts of both India and Malaysia

  • (Tex.) — Secured a complete victory in the Texas Supreme Court in a jurisprudentially significant royalty underpayment case on behalf of a leading oil and gas producer

  • Represented a major oil company in connection with an SEC inquiry concerning the company’s analysis of the requirements for establishing reserves and disclosures of its contingent liabilities arising out of a major oil spill; succeeded in convincing the SEC to conclude its inquiry without any enforcement action

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