Oil and Gas Lawyer in The Woodlands, Serving Houston and the World

Upstream and midstream agreements, drafted by the lawyer you talk to

A well can be drilled on time and on budget and still turn into a costly dispute because of a few loose words. Who pays for a dry hole? Who steps in when a partner stops paying? What happens when gas cannot be delivered? We draft, review and negotiate the agreements that answer those questions clearly, before they become expensive, for independents, operators, investors, service companies and landowners.

Before any work begins, we agree on the scope and who does what. From then on, you speak directly with the lawyer drafting your documents, with no chain of intermediaries and no guesswork. Every situation depends on its facts, so the first step is a conversation about how your project really works. Call us and let’s have it.

• Joint operating agreements and farmouts
• Drilling and well-service contracts
• Gas sales and LNG agreements
• Host government agreements and production sharing contracts
• Incorporated joint venture agreements
• Review of leases, assignments and division orders

A joint operating agreement lawyer who helps write AIEN model contracts

Most international oil and gas deals start from a model form, and the party that truly understands that form negotiates from strength. The AIEN (Association of International Energy Negotiators) publishes the model contracts companies around the world rely on. Georges C. Nama, Esq. has been an AIEN member since 2008 and sits on three of its model-contract committees: the Host Government Agreement, the Incorporated Joint Venture Agreement and the Gas Sales Agreement.

That work at the drafting table means he knows why each clause exists and where parties usually push back. When we act as your joint operating agreement lawyer, or review a farmout or gas contract, we tell you in plain words what a clause does, what is standard and what is worth fighting for. Bring us your draft and see the difference that insight makes.

For Texas mineral and royalty owners: unpaid oil and gas royalties

Your minerals are producing, yet the checks are late, short or missing, and every month of delay is money that belongs to you. Texas law takes this seriously. Under the Natural Resources Code, the first payment is generally due within 120 days after the end of the month of first sale. After that, payments follow your lease; if it is silent, oil proceeds are due within 60 days and gas proceeds within 90 days after the month of sale.

Late payments generally earn statutory interest, unless an exception applies, such as a genuine title dispute. Before suing, the owner must send the payor written notice by mail, and the payor then has 30 days to pay or explain. If a royalty owner wins a suit under this part of the code, the statute directs the court to award reasonable attorney’s fees. A royalty owner lawyer in Texas can read your lease and division order and map out your next move. Do not let the months keep slipping by.

• Review of leases, division orders and check stubs
• Demand letters under the Natural Resources Code
• Claims for unpaid oil and gas royalties and statutory interest
• Questions about suspended payments and title issues

Collecting a royalty judgment in Texas

You fought for a judgment and won it, yet the money still has not arrived. Winning is not the same as being paid, and debtors count on creditors running out of patience. Texas law gives you real tools. Recording an abstract of judgment in a county creates a lien on the debtor’s nonexempt real property there. A writ of execution lets a sheriff or constable seize and sell nonexempt property. Post-judgment discovery lets you demand answers and documents to find assets.

When assets are hard to reach, a Texas court can grant turnover relief, ordering the debtor to hand over nonexempt property or appointing a receiver. Meanwhile, money judgments keep earning post-judgment interest at a rate set monthly under the Texas Finance Code. If your judgment is sitting unpaid, talk to us about putting these tools to work.

• Judgment liens through recorded abstracts
• Writs of execution
• Post-judgment discovery
• Turnover relief and receiverships
• Post-judgment interest and statutory interest on late royalty payments

International and African oil and gas: Nigeria, Gabon and beyond

In Africa, a deal can stand or fall on understanding how the state thinks, and few firms can offer that view from the inside. Mr. Nama began his career in Libreville advising the Government of Gabon on oil, gas and mineral transactions. Prof. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, a Harvard-educated lawyer, is a former President of OPEC, former Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and former Group Managing Director of NNPC, and the author of 13 books on oil, gas, petroleum law, investment and contract law.

With offices in Lagos and Abuja and work in English, French and Spanish, we help companies with host government agreements, production sharing contracts (PSCs, where the state and investor split production under agreed terms) and joint ventures in Nigeria, Gabon and Central and West Africa. If your next venture crosses the Atlantic, start the conversation with us now.

This page provides general information, not legal advice. Every situation depends on its facts. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.