Practice Areas » Natural Resources and Energy Law

The following representative transactions reflect the depth of experience Keevican Weiss Bauerle & Hirsch's Natural Resources and Energy Practice Area offers to its clients.

Comprehensive Natural Resources Industry Experience

Keevican Weiss Bauerle & Hirsch LLC established its Natural Resources Industry Group to provide a specific, comprehensive range of services to its clients in these industries. From complex securities law to forming international joint ventures, Keevican Weiss Bauerle & Hirsch LLC’s ability to meet a wide array of legal needs has enabled it to become experienced with the most current issues as well as future trends of clients’ interests.

While Keevican Weiss Bauerle & Hirsch LLC has broad experience with assisting commercial developers, producers and lenders of properties throughout the United States, the firm has particular experience with properties located in the Appalachian Basin region of New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky, as well as the states of Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, California and Colorado. Keevican Weiss Bauerle & Hirsch LLC also has experience with international interests, most notably assisting and completing commercial transactions in North Africa.

A snapshot of the natural resource industry services Keevican Weiss Bauerle & Hirsch LLC has provided to its clients include:

Private syndications to raise equity for exploration and drilling
Feasibility assessments of proposed alternative energy projects
Production payment financing for drillers
Working capital financing for established producers
Real estate title and contract work for producers, drillers and lenders
Purchase and sale of oil and gas interests
Oil and gas loan workouts, including secured party sales and deeds in lieu of foreclosure
Algerian and Russian drilling and pipeline contract

Comprehensive Energy Industry Experience

Conducted a feasibility assessment to determine the economics and potential for commercialization of a large-scale coal gasification facility in Pennsylvania.
Represented a Midwestern financial institution with secured extension of credit to seasoned oil and gas producers and developmental drilling partnerships with properties in the Appalachian Basin, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana.
Representation totaled over 50 transactions, involving over $200 million and stretching over 15 years.
Represented one of the ten largest oil and gas producers in the United States in its funding activities, completing twenty syndications and raising over $100 million for development activities.
Served as Pennsylvania counsel for JP Morgan Chase in significant nine figure credit facilities it provided to Inergy, LP and subsidiaries. Represented Eastern American Energy in the sale of oil and gas interests, valued at $50 million, to BlackStone Acquisition Partners II-B, L.P.
Represented BlackStone Acquisition Partners in the $25 million financing provided by BNP Paribas to purchase oil and gas interests in Pennsylvania. Organized company to explore 8,300 kilometer tract in Algeria, assisting company in all phases of its start-up and operations, including negotiation of joint venture with the Algerian national oil company. Also provided assistance in raising, through a multi-national private placement, approximately $30 million for its initial exploration activity and in going public on the London AIM Stock Market.
Represented a regional investment banking firm in connection with the underwriting of a successful exchange offer in which interests in more than 10 oil and gas partnerships were exchanged for shares of stock of a publicly-traded corporation.
Represented lenders and developers in numerous oil and gas transactions in Louisiana, gaining extensive experience with the unique aspects of funding and extracting mineral interests under Louisiana law, which is based on the French Napoleonic Code rather than British Common Law.
Guided oil and gas lender through over $50 million of workouts of numerous troubled loans, secured party sales of distressed energy properties, and acceptance of deeds to energy properties in lieu of foreclosure and then through reworking and selling the properties.
Assisted financial institutions in developing and implementing a highly successful and profitable program for extending secured credit to accredited investors to invest in developmental drilling partnerships known as the SAIF Program (Secured Accredited Investor Financing Program).
Sold 86 oil and gas wells located in three counties in Pennsylvania to a privately held oil and gas company.
Structured and completed numerous financings for a publicly traded oil and gas company including more than $1 billion of senior debt financing.
Restructured oil and gas trusts into partnerships enabling the investors, who invested over $35 million, to avoid adverse tax treatment.
On behalf of a United Kingdom-based mining and minerals company, we acquired the West Virginia mining operations of a publicly-traded St. Louis-based company and the West Virginia operations of a Philadelphia-based publicly traded coal company.
Completed a variety of acquisitions and ultimate disposition on behalf of the largest non-union surface mining company in the United States.
Represented management in management's buy-out bid for the largest mining machinery manufacturer in the United States.
Structured and negotiated the proposal for a management buy out of a national mine service company.
Renegotiated coal supply agreements with a New England utilities company, a Delaware utilities company and a Western New York utilities company to significantly alleviate the financial burden of the agreements imposed upon our client.
Negotiated the purchase and sale of all the coal reserves owned by a large, publicly-traded company in the Southern Illinois basin.
Purchased a 300-acre West Virginia limestone mine from a Texas-based publicly-traded energy company.
Represented the purchaser in the acquisition of a 155-acre gob pile from a national steel company and in its subsequent resale of the property.
Represented the Australian purchaser of coal -ecovery technology. The representation included negotiations with a United States steel company for the recovery of coal from a large West Virginia waste coal site.
Financed the acquisition of substantial coal reserves in West Virginia and Virginia for an international mining company.
Represented the senior secured lender in providing an $8 million senior credit facility to a privately owned aggregates company.
Served as Mid-West regional counsel to senior lenders providing a $1.2 billion senior-secured credit facility to a United Kingdom based international aggregates company.
Structured and completed innovative financing that permitted the Bituminous Coal Operators Association's member companies to fund health and welfare benefit obligations to the United Mine Workers of America 1975 pension plan trust.
Acquired, on behalf of the largest coal company in the United Kingdom, fifteen coal companies throughout the United States and negotiated commercial transactions with many of the leading American utilities.
Assisted manufacturer of equipment used to monitor coal-fired boiler emissions in connection with general matters, ultimately including the sale of the business for approximately $20 million to a British public company.