Energy Finance

Porter Hedges is a recognized leader at helping clients around the world develop, finance, restructure, purchase and sell energy assets and projects. Because many of our energy finance lawyers either started out as finance professionals or in-house counsel with energy companies, we fully understand the needs and concerns of both lenders and borrowers.

We have advised banks on financing pipelines, offshore production platforms, and oil and gas properties, and have been especially active in advising various foreign and domestic banks as agents in syndicated reserve-based credit facilities. And for industry borrowers our experience encompasses a full range of syndicated and structured financing options for both conventional and renewable/alternative energy projects.

For industry borrowers and lenders we have structured a wide range of sophisticated financing arrangements, including:

Reserve-based mezzanine and conventional bank financing for oil and gas producers.
Volumetric production payments
Project financing for natural gas storage facilities, distributive power generation projects, co-generation and landfill gas-to-electricity power projects
Credit facilities for exploration, production, and oilfield equipment manufacturing companies
Debtor-in-possession financings
Creative deals in the formation of mezzanine lenders
Production-based mezzanine financings
Mezzanine financing of distributive generation power projects and landfill gas-to-power projects
Formation of drilling funds for development of oil and gas reserves
Placement of reserve-based energy credits
Financing of major energy-industry construction projects

Related Practices

Experience

Borrower

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc.

Emergence from bankruptcy (Chapter 11) in 2012
$75 million bridge and term loan facility with affiliates of Whitebox Advisors, LLC and Highbridge Capital Management LLC
$125 million asset-based secured revolving credit facility with Deutsche Bank
$110 million term loan and revolving credit facility with KeyBank
$65 million single advance secured term loan with Chambers Energy Management LLC
$58 million term loan and revolving credit facility with Bank of America, N.A.
$52.6 million convertible bridge note facility with affiliates of Equity Group Investments and Highbridge Capital Management LLC
$75 million revolving credit facility with Bank of America, N.A. and KeyBank

Continuum Energy

Senior secured $275 - $500 million syndicated revolving credit and acquisition facility for integrated energy services company with customers in 23 states
$20 million bridge financing by private equity investors
$20 million letter of credit facility

Davis Petroleum Corp.

$125 million reserve-based secured revolving credit and letter of credit facility
$75 million reserve-based senior secured revolving credit in connection with Davis-Yuma merger

Apache Corporation

Syndicated £900 million revolving letter of credit facility
Syndicated $3.5 billion five-year revolving credit facility
Syndicated $2.0 billion 364 day revolving credit facility
$125 million revolving credit facility secured by borrowing base assets
$3.0 billion commercial paper program
$200 million senior term credit facility
$2.95 billion commercial paper program
$1.4 billion five-year global revolving credit facility provided by 24-bank syndicate
Syndicated $1.0 billion global credit facility
Syndicated $2.25 billion five-year revolving credit facility and $1.95 billion commercial paper program

PetroQuest Energy

$170 million senior secured syndicated revolving credit facility with J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. as administrative agent
$50 million multidraw term loan agreement with Wells Fargo Bank as administrative agent for affiliates of Franklin Advisors
$200 million exchange offer of existing securities for cash, second lien notes and 4.3 million shares of common stock
$250 million exchange offer of existing senior notes and secured lien notes for second lien PIK notes and 3.5 million shares of common stock

Lender

ING Capital, LLC

Represented lender in senior secured credit facilities of $145 million to finance the development of a gas storage facility in Wyoming. This transaction was named “North American Oil & Gas Deal of the Year” by Project Finance magazine.

Macquarie Bank

Represented administrative agent and lender in a $250 million senior secured term credit facility to Saga Petroleum Corp. to finance the development of oil and gas properties located in Texas, Colorado, Montana and Wyoming, enhanced with assignment of net profits interests.
Represented lender in a senior secured credit agreement containing a $150 million term loan facility and a $50 million reserved-based revolving loan facility to Empire Energy E&P, LLC and Empire Energy USA, LLC, as co-borrowers, to finance the development of oil and gas properties located in New York, Pennsylvania and Kansas, enhanced with assignment of overriding royalty interests.

DNB

Represented lender in a $1.4 billion syndicated credit facility on pre-bankruptcy issues related to the restructuring support agreement and on issues related to the Borrower’s exit facility from bankruptcy.
Represented lender in a $2 billion unsecured revolving credit facility to Southwestern Energy Company which was restructured into a $1.1 billion secured term loan and $800 million revolving credit facility.
Represented of DnB Nor Bank, ASA (for Anadarko Petroleum Corporation) in forming a $400 million letter of credit facility.

IBERIABANK

Represented administrative agent and lender in a $250 million reserve-based senior secured credit facility to Caddo Parish Holdings secured by oil and gas properties located in Louisiana.
Represented administrative agent and lender in a $50 million reserve-based senior secured credit facility to SRD PARTNERS, LLC to finance the exploration, development and acquisition of oil and gas properties located in Texas.

Texas Capital Bank

Represented administrative agent and lender in a $500 million reserve-based senior secured credit facility to American Energy – Woodford LLC to finance the exploration, development and acquisition of oil and gas properties located in Oklahoma.
Represented administrative agent and lender in a $100 million reserve-based senior secured credit facility to Americo Energy Resources, LLC et al. to finance the exploration, development and acquisition of oil and gas properties located in Texas.

Amegy Bank of Texas

Represented administrative agent and lender in a $125 million reserve-based senior first lien secured credit facility to Sabalo Operating, LLC to finance the exploration, development and acquisition of oil and gas properties located in Texas.
Represented administrative agent and lender in a $100 million reserve-based senior first lien secured credit facility to GMT Exploration Company LLC to finance working capital needs and the acquisition of oil and gas properties.

BBVA Compass

Represented administrative agent and lender in a $100 million reserve-based senior secured credit facility to TRDC LLC to finance the exploration, development and acquisition of oil and gas properties located in Colorado.
Represented lender in a $20 million reserve-based senior secured credit facility to Wadi Petroleum, Inc. to finance the exploration, development and acquisition of oil and gas properties located in Mississippi, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas.
Represented lender in a $27.6 million term loan facility secured by a U.S.-flagged offshore supply vessel and related assets owned and chartered by a special purpose vehicle.

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.