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About Alan

Alan Rafte, chair of the firm’s business and regulatory section, serves clients in transactions that involve offshore and onshore wind generation facilities; carbon capture, sequestration and utilization projects; upstream oil and gas projects; pipelines and other midstream facilities; and merchant fossil-fuel electric generation facilities. He represents energy industry companies, private equity investors, alternative lenders and financial institutions in transactions that include acquisitions and divestitures of assets and companies, joint venture arrangements, structured finance, leveraged finance, project development and project finance. Clients are significant companies in the energy industry including, Apache Corporation, Equinor, Phillips 66 and HPS Investment Partners.

Alan is highly ranked in 2024 Chambers Global in Energy: Oil & Gas (Transactional) (Band 1) and in 2023 Chambers USA in Energy: Oil & Gas (Transactional) (Band 1) and Projects. According to 2021 Chambers USA, Alan is an “exceptional lawyer; there’s no matter he can’t handle. He’s very good with clients and stays at the cutting edge of what’s happening in the industry.”

Alan’s deep knowledge of the industry makes him very valuable on transactions. He is an excellent adviser.
Chambers USA, 2022

Experience

Recent Notable Matters

Phillips 66 — agreement to sell the Belle Chasse Terminal, formerly the Alliance Refinery, to Harvest Midstream (ongoing)

Sable Offshore Corp. — purchase from Exxon Mobil Corporation of the Santa Ynez field in Federal waters offshore California and associated onshore processing and pipeline assets, including pipeline assets acquired by Exxon Mobil from Plains Pipeline L.P. and the merger with Flame Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition entity

Pioneer Natural Resources — development of a 140 MW wind generation facility on surface acreage owned by Pioneer that will provide renewable power to the Texas electric grid and Pioneer’s Permian Basin operations (2022)

Phillips 66 — realignment of its economic and governance interests in DCP Midstream, LP and Gray Oak Pipeline, LLC through the merger of existing joint ventures owned by Phillips 66 and Enbridge Inc. (2022)

Navigator CO2 Ventures LLC — development of an industrial scale carbon capture pipeline system of more than 1,200 miles of new carbon dioxide gathering and transportation pipelines across five Midwest states (Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota and Illinois) with the capability of permanently storing up to 5 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide per year (2021)

Pioneer Natural Resources Company — sale of approximately 20,000 net acres in western Glasscock County to Laredo Petroleum, Inc. for a combination of cash and LPI common stock (2021)

Entity affiliated with GeoSouthern Energy Corp. — upstream joint venture with a subsidiary of The Williams Companies, Inc. for the acquisition of an interest in and development of Williams’ South Mansfield Assets in the Haynesville Shale (2021)

Equinor — $1.1 billion sale of a 50 percent interest in two US offshore wind development projects to BP, including formation of a partnership to develop and operate the Empire Wind project offshore New York and Beacon Wind project offshore Massachusetts, which together could generate up to 4.4 GW (2020)

TC Energy Corporation — US counsel in connection with the Government of Alberta’s $1.1 billion equity investment and $4.2 billion loan guarantee to support construction of the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline (2020)

Phillips 66 — formation of Bluewater Texas Terminal LLC, a joint venture with Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd., to develop an offshore deepwater port project in the Port of Corpus Christi (2020)

Pioneer Natural Resources Company — DrillCo transaction with a private investor providing for drilling opportunities on acreage owned by Pioneer in South Texas (2020)

Large publicly traded utility company — DrillCo transaction pursuant to which the utility provided financing to an upstream operator in exchange for a large acreage dedication and exclusive right to provide midstream services to the operator (2019)

Apache Corporation — $612 million asset sales in the Western Anadarko Basin and the SCOOP/STACK play (2019)

Alinda Capital Partners — sale of NorTex Midstream Partners, LLC, a company owned by funds managed by Alinda that own Texas gas storage facilities, to a subsidiary of Castleton Commodities International LLC (2018)

Apache Corporation — creation of $3.5 billion midstream company with Kayne Anderson Acquisition Corp., forming the only publicly traded, pure-play Permian Basin midstream company that is a C-corporation (2018)

Apache Corporation — strategic partnership with EPIC Midstream Holdings, LP and Noble Energy Inc. to develop the EPIC Crude Oil Pipeline, including transportation service agreements, tariffs and related regulatory matters (2018)

Apache Corporation — formation of SCM Alpine, LLC, which will own and operate a greenfield NGL y-grade pipeline, including transportation service agreements, tariffs and related regulatory matters (2018)

GEP Haynesville, LLC — exchange of non-operating working interests located in the Haynesville Basin with Vine Oil & Gas LP (2018)

HPS Investment Partners, LLC and Kingfisher Midstream, LLC — merger agreement between Kingfisher, Silver Run Acquisition Corporation II and Alta Mesa Holdings, LP to combine and form Alta Mesa Resources, Inc. (2018)

Phillips 66 Partners LP — joint venture construction and operating agreements with Andeavor and an equity option with Canadian midstream company Enbridge Inc. in relation to the Gray Oak Pipeline, LLC joint venture, and in a joint venture with Buckeye Partners LP to develop the new South Texas Gateway Terminal at the mouth of Corpus Christi Bay (2018)

Pioneer Natural Resources Company — divestiture of its pressure pumping assets to ProPetro Holding Corp. in exchange for total cash and stock consideration of $400 million and entry into a 10 year pressure pumping and related services agreement with ProPetro (2018)

Apache Corporation — sale of its subsidiary, Apache Canada Ltd., to Paramount Resources Ltd, which includes properties located in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia (2017)

Castleton Commodities International LLC — equity investment by Tokyo Gas America Ltd. in CCI’s subsidiary, Castleton Resources LLC, which owns upstream assets in East Texas (2017)

Alinda Capital Partners and GE Energy Financial Services — sale of SourceGas Holdings LLC to Black Hills Corp. for $1.89 billion (2016)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board — $450 million commitment by its wholly-owned subsidiary, CPPIB Credit Investments, to LongPoint Minerals, LLC, and entity formed to buy minerals and royalties in the U.S. (2016)

Publications and Speeches

"How Deep is Your Carbon? Carbon Capture Utilization & Sequestration,” Proximo US Power, Renewables & Energy Transition Finance 2023, November 2023. 

“Private Equity Development Joint Ventures,” The 82nd Annual API Federal Tax Forum, April 2016.

“Distressed Situations in Oil and Gas,” 81st Annual API Federal Tax Forum, April 2015.

Credentials

Education

Emory University School of Law,
J.D.
Syracuse University,
Bachelor of Arts

Bar Admissions

Texas
New York
Registered Foreign Lawyer, Solicitors Regulation Authority, England and Wales

News

News

Noteworthy

Noteworthy

Chambers Global
Energy: Oil & Gas (Transactional), 2006 - 2024; Projects, 2010 - 2024
Chambers USA
Nationwide Energy: Oil & Gas (Transactional), 2010 - 2023; Nationwide Projects, 2005 - 2023; Texas Banking & Finance, 2010 - 2023; Nationwide Energy & Natural Resources, 2003 - 2009
The Legal 500
Hall of Fame, Energy: Transactions: Oil and Gas, Named in 2018
The Legal 500 United States
Energy: Transactions: Oil and Gas, 2016 - 2023 (Leading Lawyer, 2016 - 2019; Hall of Fame, 2018 - 2023); Energy: Transactions, 2012 - 2015 (Leading Lawyer, 2013 - 2015); Energy Transactions: Electric Power, 2023; Energy: Renewable/Alternative Power, 2020 - 2023; Project Finance, 2010 - 2013, 2015 - 2020, 2022 - 2023; Energy: Regulatory, 2012; Energy: Transaction and Regulatory, 2011; Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Large Deals ($1-5 Billion), 2013 - 2019; Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Middle Market ($500-$999 Million), 2012; Structured Finance, 2011 - 2013, 2016 - 2017; Commercial Lending, 2009, 2022 - 2023
BL Rankings
Best Lawyers
2014, 2017 - 2024; Houston Lawyer of the Year, Energy Law, 2019; Houston Lawyer of the Year, Oil and Gas Law, 2020
Lawdragon Inc.
Lawdragon 500 Leading US Energy Lawyers
Energy Transactions, 2024

Events