Overview
Experience
Representative Matters
While at Kirkland, Chris has been involved in the following representations:
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QL Capital Partners – formation of an up to $550 million drilling partnership with Antero Resources Corporation
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Northern Oil and Gas Inc. — acquisition of certain non-operated natural gas assets in the Appalachian Basin from a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd.
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Guidon Operating LLC — divestiture of all leasehold interests and related assets to Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: FANG) for 10.63 million shares of Diamondback common stock and $375 million
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Maverick Natural Resources — merger with FourPoint Energy LLC to create Unbridled Resources LLC
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BCE-Mach III LLC — acquisition of Alta Mesa Holdings, LP and its subsidiaries’ upstream oil and gas assets and Kingfisher Midstream, LLC and its subsidiaries’ midstream assets as part of the 363 sales process of the debtor sellers
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Santa Elena Minerals, LP — $150 million sale of certain mineral and royalty interests to Viper Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ:VNOM) in an all-equity transaction
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KKR/Spur Energy Partners LLC — $925 million acquisition of assets in the New Mexico Shelf from Concho Resources Inc.
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Hilcorp Alaska — $5.6 billion acquisition of BP’s (NYSE:BP) upstream and midstream business in Alaska
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Desert Royalty Company, LLC — combination with Kimmeridge Energy Management Company, LLC to form Desert Peak Minerals, the largest pure-play mineral and royalty company in the Delaware Basin
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BCE-Mach II LLC — acquisition of producing properties in Oklahoma and Texas
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Private operator — $165 million drilling participation arrangement with a Development Capital Resources-managed subsidiary, capitalized by funds managed by affiliates of Ares Management Corporation, to jointly develop drilling locations in the Permian Basin’s Wolfcamp formation
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Gastar Exploration LLC/Ares — strategic combination and merger with Chisholm Oil and Gas LLC
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Ensign Natural Resources LLC/Warburg Pincus — acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources USA, Inc.’s (NYSE:PXD) Eagle Ford Shale assets, including approximately 59,000 net acres and 14,400 net boepd
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Maverick Natural Resources — acquisition of producing properties in the Overton field in East Texas, including approximately 11,000 net acres and 2,700 net boepd
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HG Energy II Appalachia, LLC/Quantum — $400 million divestiture of producing, unconventional wellbores to Diversified Gas & Oil Corporation
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Vanguard Natural Resources, Inc. — in the following divestitures of oil and gas assets: (i) sale of its interest in properties located in Mississippi to private equity backed oil and gas company and private oil and gas company; (ii) sale of its interest in properties located in the Permian Basin to private oil and gas company; (iii) sale of its interest in properties located in the Green River Basin to private equity backed oil and gas company; (iv) swap of its interest in properties in Wyoming with private oil and gas company; (v) sale of its interest in natural gas properties and associated midstream assets located in Potato Hills field in the Arkoma Basin to private oil and gas company; and (vi) sale of its interest in properties in Texas to private oil and gas company
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BCE-Mach LLC — acquisition of Repsol E&P USA Inc.’s producing properties in Alfalfa, Garfield, Grant, Kay, Major, Harper, Noble, Pawnee, Payne, Woods and Woodward Counties, Oklahoma and Barber, Comanche, Finney, Ford, Gove, Gray, Harper, Hodgeman, Ness, Reno, Scott, Sumner and Wichita Counties, Kansas
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KKR/Venado Oil & Gas, LLC — acquisition of operated assets in the Eagle Ford oil window of South Texas from Texas American Resources Company I, LLC
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FourPoint Energy — formation of a new pure-play Midland Basin joint venture with Double Eagle Energy Holdings III LLC named DoublePoint Energy, LLC, with over 70,000 acres in Midland, Glassock, Martin, Howard, Upton and Reagan Counties, Texas
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PE-backed oil and gas company — $553 million acquisition of Devon Energy Corporation’s (NYSE:DVN) oil and gas properties in the Barnett Shale
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Ares Management, L.P. — majority investment into Admiral Permian Resources, LLC, a Texas-based independent oil and gas company and the related acquisition of more than 59,000 net acres from Three Rivers Operating Co. III LLC (3ROC) in the Delaware Basin
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HG Energy II Appalachia, LLC — exchange transaction with CNX Resources Corp. and CNX Midstream Partners LP
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Warburg Pincus/RimRock Oil & Gas Williston, LLC — $500 million acquisition of non-operated upstream assets in the Bakken Shale from Whiting Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: WLL)
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GSO/Sequel Energy Group LLC — formation of $325 million drilling partnership to develop domestic unconventional resources in the Utica Shale with Eclipse Resources Corp. (NYSE: ECR)
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Alta Marcellus Development, LLC — $1.24 billion acquisition of operated and non-operated upstream assets and operated midstream assets in the Marcellus Shale of north-central Pennsylvania from Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC)
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KKR — $625 million divestiture of certain Eagle Ford Shale assets owned by KKR and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) to WildHorse Development Corporation (NYSE: WRD) paid in cash and WRD common stock
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Private equity fund — divestiture and unwind of an existing drilling partnership with a private oil and gas company to develop Eagle Ford Shale assets
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HG Energy II LLC/Quantum — $1.23 billion acquisition of Noble Energy, Inc.’s (NYSE: NBL) upstream assets in the Marcellus Shale play
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KKR/Venado Oil and Gas, LLC — $300 million acquisition of certain of EXCO Resources, Inc.’s (NYSE: XCO) producing and non-producing oil and natural gas properties in South Texas
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PE-backed oil and gas company — substantial acquisition of certain non-operated oil and gas properties in the Eagle Ford Shale
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Samson Resources Corporation — Chapter 11 restructuring in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Samson, a leading onshore oil and gas exploration and production company with headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, held oil and gas assets primarily located in Colorado, Louisiana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming. In Chapter 11, Samson successfully executed on six simultaneous asset sales during its restructuring, with an aggregate purchase price of $650 million, and negotiated a global settlement with its major stakeholders, resolving all open issues in its bankruptcy. Samson’s plan of reorganization deleveraged its balance sheet by approximately $4 billion and positioned Samson for future success after emergence
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Indigo Haynesville — agreement to purchase from Chesapeake Energy Corp. a portion of its acreage and producing properties in its Haynesville Shale operating area in northern Louisiana for approximately $450 million and associated placement of second lien and equity financing with a syndicate of private equity firms
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Independent oil and gas company — formation of an acquisition partnership to acquire and develop oil and gas assets in the Permian Basin
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Private equity fund — unwind of an existing drilling partnership with a private oil and gas company and associated acquisition of additional working interest in the Eagle Ford Shale
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KKR/Haymaker Resources LP — acquisition of Chesapeake Energy Corporation’s (NYSE: CHK) producing and non-producing mineral and royalty interests associated with over 8,500 wells across 24 states and 324 counties
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Large global investment fund — formation of drilling participation arrangement with Gastar Exploration Inc. (NYSE: GST) to jointly develop up to 60 Gastar-operated wells in the STACK play in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma
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Independent oil and gas company — $423 million acquisition of Devon Energy Corporation’s (NYSE:DVN) oil and gas properties in the southern Midland Basin
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TPG Special Situations Partners, LLC — formation of $400 million drilling partnership to develop domestic unconventional resources in the Midland Basin with Hunt Oil Company
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Private equity fund — formation of drilling partnership to develop assets in the Permian Basin
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Indigo Minerals LLC — $375 million equity capital raise and the acquisition of certain producing and undeveloped Cotton Valley and Haynesville properties from a private exploration and development company
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Independent oil and gas company — divestiture of undivided working interest in large-scale position in the Permian Basin
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Seneca Resources Corporation — formation of drilling partnership to develop unconventional resources in Pennsylvania with an affiliate of IOG Capital, LP and Fortress Investment Group, LLC (NYSE: FIG) and the subsequent modified extension of the original joint development agreement
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KKR/Fleur de Lis Energy, LLC — acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation’s CO2 enhanced oil recovery properties in the Powder River and Green River Basins of Wyoming
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GSO Capital Partners LP — formation of $500 million drilling partnership to develop domestic unconventional resources with Linn Energy (NASDAQ: LINE)
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Private equity fund — formation of drilling partnership to develop unconventional resources in South Texas
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KKR — formation of drilling partnership with Anadarko Petroleum to develop Eaglebine Shale assets
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East Resources and private oil company — $1.75 billion divestiture of oil and gas assets in the Utica and Marcellus Shale plays to affiliates of American Energy Partners, LP
Prior to joining Kirkland, Chris’ representative transactions included:
Acquisitions, Divestitures and Joint Ventures
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Private equity fund — formation of drilling partnership to develop Bakken Shale assets
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Carlyle Group — formation of joint venture with Hilcorp Energy to develop Utica Shale assets
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KKR — formation of multiple drilling partnerships to develop Eagle Ford Shale assets
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Dominion Resources Inc. — farmout of 90,000 Marcellus Shale acres underlying gas storage fields to CONSOL Energy Inc.
Other Energy Project Development
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International oil company — structuring of initial investments in U.S. Gulf of Mexico deep-water oil and gas assets
Prior Experience
Associate, Baker Botts L.L.P.
Summer Associate, Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C.
Summer Associate, Baker Botts L.L.P.
More
Thought Leadership
Publications
Dakota Access Pipeline Shutdown Order: What Happened and What’s Next, Energy Law Report, November 2020
Implications for the Energy Industry in Light of the U.S. Supreme Court Decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma, Energy Law Report, November 2020
Oil And Gas Shut-Ins Risk Royalty Litigation, Law360, April 17, 2020
Dwindling Oil Storage Capacity and Impacts on Energy Companies, The Texas Lawbook, April 3, 2020
INSIGHT: Price Stabilization, Private Equity Engagement to Bolster Oil & Gas M&A Activity, Bloomberg Environment and Energy Report, October 4, 2018
Applying Title Defects Under a Typical Purchase Agreement, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, September 2018
Dealing with Midstream Commitments or Acquisitions as a Private Equity Purchaser, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, April 2018
Energy: Oil & Gas 2018, Chambers and Partners: Law and Practice, July 2017
Trends and Issues with 'DrillCo' Transactions, Texas Lawyer, November 5, 2015
Seminars
“Applying Title Defects Under a Typical Purchase Agreement,” RMMLF Due Diligence in Oil & Gas and Mining Transactions, September 28, 2018
“Dealing with Midstream Commitments or Acquisitions as a Private Equity Purchaser,” RMMLF Midstream Oil & Gas from the Upstream Perspective, April 24, 2018
“Gathering Agreements - Nuts and Bolts,” CLE presentation to BHP Billiton, Houston, April 14, 2016
Recognition
Recognized for M&A: Large Deals ($1bn+) by The Legal 500 United States, 2019–2020
Recognized for Energy Transactions: Conventional Power by The Legal 500 United States, 2019
Memberships & Affiliations
University of Chicago Law School Corporate Lab Alumni Advisory Board, Member
Houston Bar Association
Houston Young Lawyer Association
Houston Food Bank F.R.E.S.H. Young Professionals, Board Member
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- Texas
Education
- University of Chicago Law SchoolJ.D.with Honors2013
Transactional Law Fellow
Joseph E. Green Scholarship
Edmund A. Spencer Scholarship
Corporate Lab Clinic, Director
- The George Washington UniversityB.A., International Affairs & Political Sciencemagna cum laude2008