On February 27, 2013, Western Gas Partners, LP (NYSE: WES) agreed to acquire a 33.75% interest in the Liberty and Rome gas gathering systems from Anadarko Petroleum Corporation for a total consideration, including cash and common units, of $490 million.

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A team from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP advised the conflicts committee of the Regency Energy Partners board of directors in Regency’s $1.5 billion cash and stock acquisition of Southern Union Gathering Company, owner of Southern Union Gas Services Ltd. The deal, which will expand Regency’s footprint in the Permian Basin, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2013.

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Bracewell & Giuliani LLP represented Evercore Partners, advisor to the Conflicts Committee of the Board of Directors of the general partner of the general partner of Regency Energy Partners LP, regarding Regency Energy Partners LP’s acquisition of Southern Union Gathering Company, LLC from Southern Union Company, a jointly owned affiliate of Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. and Energy Transfer Partners, L.P., for $1.5 billion.

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Bracewell & Giuliani LLP is representing the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of the general partner of Western Gas Partners, LP (NYSE:WES), in Western Gas Partners’ announced acquisition of an interest in two gas gathering systems in the Marcellus shale.

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Reed Smith LLP today announced its expansion into the Lone Star State. The firm’s first Texas office is now open for business in the BG Group Place at 811 Main Street, Houston. The move is the culmination of a longstanding desire by Reed Smith to enter the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the country’s energy capital. More than half of Reed Smith’s largest clients have operations in Houston, and this office will allow Reed Smith to improve service to those clients and develop new relationships. The office opened with 12 partners from the local offices of seven leading law firms forming the initial group of new Reed Smith partners. Six of the lawyers are joining Reed Smith’s Energy & Natural Resources Industry Group (ENR); two join the U.S. Commercial Litigation practice; and one each join the Life Sciences Health Industry (LSHI), Labor & Employment, Financial Industry, and Intellectual Property Groups.

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Bracewell & Giuliani LLP represented BHP Billiton Petroleum (Deepwater), Inc., a mining and petroleum company, in the negotiations of a build-to-suit lease for its corporate headquarters in the Galleria area of Houston, as well as the reorganization of more than 700,000 square feet of additional office space in the company’s existing portfolio of office space. Once constructed, the new building at 1500 Post Oak Boulevard will contain approximately 543,143 square feet.

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Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP advised the conflicts committee of the LINN Energy board of directors in LINN’s purchase of Berry Petroleum Company.

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Mayer Brown, a leading global law firm, announced that it represented Chesapeake Energy Corporation in the negotiation of a 10-year agreement with Methanex, the world’s largest supplier of methanol, to supply 350 billion cubic feet of natural gas required for Methanex’s methanol plant in Louisiana. The structure of the agreement links natural gas prices to the price of methanol, reducing the exposure to natural gas price fluctuations. Natural gas deliveries will coincide with the startup of the plant in 2014.

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Attorneys with the law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP represented WBI Energy, Inc., a subsidiary of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE: MDU), in the formation of Dakota Prairie Refining, LLC, a $300 million joint venture with Calumet Specialty Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: CLMT) that will develop, build, and operate a diesel refinery in southwestern North Dakota. The transaction was announced on Feb. 7, 2013.

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Porter Hedges represented a Special Committee of the Gulfport Energy Corporation (“Gulfport”) Board of Directors in the $220 million acquisition of Utica Shale acreage from Windsor Ohio, LLC (“Windsor Ohio”). The purchase includes approximately 22,000 net acres in the Utica Shale in Eastern Ohio and increases Gulfport’s leasehold interests in the Utica Shale to approximately 137,000 gross (128,000 net) acres and increases its working interest in the acreage to 93.8%.

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