G. Michael O’Leary

Mike is co-head of the firm’s Corporate Team. He has an extensive corporate securities and mergers and acquisitions practice that is focused on the energy industry. His practice includes a particular emphasis on representation of issuers and underwriters in energy-related public and private offerings of equity and debt securities (including IPOs); representation of buyers, sellers and special committees in mergers and acquisitions (domestic and foreign) and of private equity firms’ investments in energy and energy infrastructure; redemptions and exchanges of corporate debt; negotiating complex partnerships and joint ventures; structuring spin-offs and “going private” transactions; and corporate governance.

Mike has also been actively involved in energy transition infrastructure projects, including CCUS infrastructure, and clean hydrogen and ammonia infrastructure, projects and voluntary carbon credits and the purchase and sale of low carbon intensity natural gas for blue hydrogen production. He has represented clients in connection with more than 550 public and private offerings of debt, equity and preferred securities totaling over $200 billion and more than 295 M&A transactions totaling over $178 billion.

Chambers USA notes that clients have described Mike as “one of the most experienced and knowledgeable securities lawyers" and “a well-regarded and distinguished practitioner”.

Energy Transition

• Representing Ten08 Energy LLC with investments by Navigator Holdings Ltd. and lead investor Attis Clean Energy in its planned hydrogen and ammonia production and export facility located in the Port of Brownsville on the Texas Gulf Coast.
• Shawkwei & Partners with the merger of BSKP Merger Sub, Inc. with and into ZymeFlow. As a result, BSKP Merger Sub, Inc. owns one hundred percent of the issued and outstanding capital stock of TriStar Group, Inc. ZymeFlow’s ecofriendly and patented products and services are highly efficient in the decontamination and maintenance of energy and chemical processing facilities in the US and around the world. M&A Advisor’s 2024 Energy Deal of the Year (Under $100MM).
• enCore Energy Corp. with its acquisition of the Alta Mesa In-Situ Recovery uranium project from Energy Fuels Inc. The $120 million transaction will position enCore as a leading US-focused ISR uranium company with a processing capacity of 3.6 million pounds of uranium per year.
• Rattler Midstream LP in its affiliate's $160 million acquisition of water midstream assets from subsidiaries of Diamondback Energy, Inc. The assets subject to the drop down consist primarily of produced water gathering and disposal systems, produced water recycling facilities, and sourced water gathering and storage assets acquired by Diamondback through transactions with QEP Resources, Inc. and Guidon Operating LLC and certain of its affiliates.
• enCore Energy Corp. with its $42,065,362 (including shelf registration of $16,148,314) Public Offering: Follow-On, Shelf Offering of Common Stock, Warrants. Encore Energy is the most diversified In-Situ Recovery (ISR) uranium development company in the United States.

Mergers & Acquisitions and Joint Ventures

• Paloma Partners VI Holdings, LLC and Paloma VI Merger Sub, Inc. in its acquisition of the Goodrich Petroleum Corporation
• Colt Midstream in acquiring certain natural gas and liquids gathering and transportation systems
• Midland Petro DC Partners LLC and its affiliates in the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements for the $330 million sale of non-operated working interests in certain oil and gas properties in the Midland Basin of Texas to Northern Oil and Gas Inc with proceeds used to reduce outstanding debt
• Midland-Petro DC Partners in its negotiation and execution of definitive agreements for the $29 million purchase of non-operated working interests in certain oil and gas properties in the Midland Basin of Texas from REPMC, LLC and Midland-Petro DC Partners in its $225 million sale of non-operated working interests in certain oil and gas properties in the Midland Basin

• Crestwood Equity Partners LP in its $268 million strategic acquisition of acquisition of Crestwood Marcellus Holdings LLC, Crestwood Holdings LP and Crestwood Gas Services LLC
• Sunlight Financial LLC in its $1.3 billion business combination with Spartan Acquisition Corp. II
• WGL Midstream Inc. in its sale of 30% of Stonewall Gas Gathering to DTE Midstream
• Royal Vopak and BlackRock’s Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Fund in the formation of a $620 million joint venture, Vopak Industrial Infrastructure Americas, LLC, and then in VIIA’s subsequent purchase of three of The Dow Chemical Company’s chemical storage terminals on the US Gulf Coast
• Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners’ $3.6 billion acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Oryx Southern Delaware Holdings LLC and Oryx Delaware Holdings LLC
• Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners’ $1 billion initial equity commitment to Discovery Midstream Holdings II LLC
• Sabine Oil and Gas Holdings, Inc. in its $610 million sale of Sabine Oil & Gas USA Corporation

Corporate Governance

• DCP Midstream, LP in its $3.8 billion acquisition by Phillips 66
• Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP's transition to New Calumet Corporation
• Shell USA, Inc.’s $1.96 billion acquisition of Shell Midstream Partners, L.P.
• Viper Energy Partners LP’s $75 million acquisition of overriding royalty interests in certain oil and gas properties from Diamondback E&P LLC
• DCP Midstream, LP in Phillips 66’s acquisition of all the publicly held common units representing limited partner interests in DCP Midstream.
• Pure Acquisition Corp. in its $1.575 billon initial business combination pursuant to which Pure effected a merger resulting in a newly formed and publicly traded company, HighPeak Energy, Inc.
• San Juan Holdings, LLC in a $64,200,000 joint venture between Arena Oil & Gas, LLC, Lime Rock Partners VIII, L.P., and AOP 4, LLC to form San Juan Offshore, LLC
• Quintana Energy Services, Inc. all-stock merger with KLX Energy Services Holdings, Inc.
• Viper Energy Partners GP LLC’s and Viper Energy Partners LP with Diamondback Energy, Inc.’s dropdown of mineral interest assets to Viper Energy Partners LP for $700 million
• Roan Resources, Inc. with the $100 million commitment from certain affiliated lenders and Common Stock Subscription Agreement with such affiliated lenders
• Wing Resources V, LLC in its $100 million private initial equity capital raise from private equity investors
• InfraREIT, Inc. with the merger of InfraREIT, Inc. and InfraREIT Partners, LP with and into affiliates of Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC
• Shell Midstream Partners GP LLC with Shell Midstream Partners, L.P.’s 800 million acquisition of a 25.97% ownership interest in Explorer Pipeline Company and a 10.125% ownership interest in Colonial Pipeline Company
• Phillips 66 Partners LP(PSXP) with the elimination of all of Phillips 66 Co.’s IDRs and general partner economic interests in PSXP
• ArcLight Capital, in the sale of all the equity in Blue Hills Fuels, LLC consisting of over 200 Gulf dealer operated retail motor fuel service stations

Capital Markets: Debt Offerings

• USA Compression Partners’ $1 billion of senior notes
• Energy Transfer LPs $3.8 billion of senior notes
• Energy Transfer LPs $4 billion of senior notes
• Energy Transfer LP's $1 billion of senior notes
• Genesis Energy, L.P.’s $500 million of senior notes
• Energy Transfer LP’s $2.5 billion of senior notes
• Kinder Morgan, Inc’s combined $1.5 billion of senior notes
• Kinder Morgan, Inc’s $800 million of senior notes
• Kinder Morgan, Inc.’s $750 million of senior notes
• Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P.’s $300 million of senior notes
• Kinder Morgan, Inc.’s $1.25 billion of senior notes
• Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P.’s $500 million of senior notes
• Energy Transfer Operating, L.P.’s combined $4.5 billion of senior notes
• Genesis Energy, L.P.’s $1.5 billion of senior notes
• USA Compression Partners’ $750 million of senior notes
• Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. ‘s $3 billion of senior notes
• Jagged Peak Energy LLC’s $500 million of senior notes
• Kinder Morgan, Inc.’s combined $2 billion of senior notes

Capital Markets: Equity Offerings

• Energy Transfer LP’s $765 million secondary offering by CenterPoint Energy Midstream, Inc.
• Energy Transfer Operating, L.P.’s $1.6 billion offering of preferred units
• Perpetua Resources Corp.’s $57,500,000 offering of common stock
• NGL Energy Partners LP’s private placement of $400 million of class D preferred units and warrants
• NGL Energy Partners LP’s private placement of $200 million of NGL’s class D preferred units and warrants
• Energy Transfer Partners, L.P.’s $445 million offering of preferred units
• USA Compression Holdings, LLC’s offering up to 5,000,000 of its common units. Representing limited partner interests in USA Compression Partners, LP.
• Energy Transfer Partners, L.P.’s $450 million offering preferred units

• Recognized as a Leader in Capital Markets: Debt and Equity, United States, IFLR1000, 2024
• Recognized as a Leading Lawyer M&A Middle Market ($500m-$999m) (2018-2024) and Recommended (2009-2017), Leading Lawyer for Energy Transactions: Oil and Gas (2018, 2020-2024) and Recommended (2012-2017, 2019), Legal 500 United States
• Recommended for Capital Markets: Debt Offerings (2012-2021), Capital Markets: High-Yield Debt Offerings (2019-2022, 2024) and Capital Markets: Equity Offerings (2012-2018, 2020), Legal 500 United States
• Recognized as a Leader in Capital Markets: Debt & Equity (2013-2019, 2021-2024) and Corporate/M&A (2006-2024), Texas, Chambers USA
• Recognized as a Leader in Energy: Oil & Gas – Transactional (2010-2024), Capital Markets: Debt & Equity (2019-2024) for USA-Nationwide, Chambers USA
• Recognized as a leading practitioner for M&A, The Legal 500 Private Practice M&A Powerlist: USA Region, 2024

• Recognized as a Leader in the U.S. in Energy: Oil & Gas – Transactional (2012-2024), in Corporate/M&A: International & Cross-Border (2014-2024), and in Capital Markets: Debt & Equity (2020-2024), Chambers Global

• Lifetime Achievement Award, Texas Lawyer (2018)

• American Bar Association
• Houston Bar Association