Kirkland Advises Global Investment Fund in Drilling Participation Arrangement with Gastar Exploration

Kirkland & Ellis LLP represents a large private global investment fund (Investor) in connection with its drilling participation arrangement with Gastar Exploration Inc. (NYSE MKT: GST), where the Investor agrees to jointly develop up to 60 Gastar-operated wells in the STACK play in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma. The drilling program will target the Meramec and Osage formations within the Mississippi Lime on a contract area within three townships covering approximately 18,000 undeveloped net mineral acres under leases held by Gastar. The Investor will fund 90 percent of Gastar’s working interest portion of drilling and completion costs to initially earn 80 percent of Gastar’s working interest in each new well, subject to reversion upon achieving specified metrics.

The team was led by corporate partners Anthony Speier and David Castro and associates Christopher Heasley and Ryan Martin; and debt finance partner Lucas Spivey. The team also included corporate associate Lindsey Jaquillard; tax partner Zackary Pullin and associate Joe Tobias; environmental transactions partner Paul Tanaka and associate Michael Mahoney; and restructuring partner Ryan Blaine Bennett.