Overview

Oil and Gas

Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote has built a strong reputation for partnering with operators throughout the oil and gas industry to develop practical solutions for their most pressing legal challenges throughout the Appalachian Basin. Our attorneys advise and assist a wide array of clients, ranging from international oil and gas companies to small, independently run operators. Additionally, we work with midstream sector clients, well service and drilling companies, private equity groups, mineral and royalty funds, and banks and financial institutions that finance oil and gas operations. A number of our attorneys have served as in-house counsel with oil and gas companies, lending our team a unique first-hand understanding of the industry’s business operations and culture and providing critical, real world insights.

The Dickie McCamey oil and gas practice is well known throughout the industry as trusted legal and business advisors to our clients. We provide a full range of services in five core areas:

Transactions

Our team has vast experience structuring and negotiating the complex deals that arise in the oil and gas industry. We provide practical advice and guidance in connection with a wide spectrum of industry transactions, including:

  • Acquisitions
  • Acreage Trade Agreements
  • Assignments
  • Divestitures
  • Due Diligence
  • Farm-Out Agreements
  • Gathering Agreements
  • Joint Operating Agreements
  • Joint Ventures
  • Mergers
  • Private Equity Transactions
  • Processing Agreements
  • Purchase and Sale Agreements
  • Transportation Agreements
  • Well Purchase/Divestitures

Our lawyers understand the nuances of each scenario and craft agreements that avoid potential challenges and disputes. Our team approaches each transaction from the client’s perspective and focuses on structuring deals that achieve their specific goals and objectives.

Oil and Gas Title Opinions and Curative

Dickie McCamey oil and gas attorneys leverage a wealth of experience in title analysis, transactional work, and litigation services to produce certified title opinions regarding oil and gas interests. Our title clients demand accuracy, cost-efficiency and timeliness, and we deliver on these demands. We understand that identifying proper surface, oil and gas estates requires careful attention to detail and compliance with strict timing deadlines and budget constraints. Our attorneys also appreciate that clients require more than mere summaries of title documents; clients need comprehensive business-minded advice as to how to best cure various clouds on title.

Our attorneys deliver straightforward, practical solutions that meet the demands of our title clients, which include:

  • Preparing drilling title opinions and supplemental opinions
  • Preparing acquisition title opinions
  • Drafting pooling and unitization agreements
  • Drafting curative instruments
  • Preparing division order title opinions (DOTO)
  • Abstracting
  • Developing creative problem-solving strategies to resolve complex title defects
  • Handling quiet title litigation
  • Drafting coal and hydrocarbon deeds
  • Preparing and negotiating oil and gas leases, amendments, assignments, ratifications, and pipeline right of ways
  • Preparing detailed lease analyses
  • Facilitating the purchase and sale of oil and gas interests, including transactions through bankruptcy court

Companies operating throughout the oil and gas industry trust our firm to provide a complete and accurate picture of all title matters so that they can properly resolve issues and move their operations forward in a timely manner.

Operations

Dickie McCamey is committed to helping our clients develop innovative and successful strategies for the exploration, drilling and production of oil and gas. Our attorneys regularly counsel clients on all aspects of their business operations. We also serve as outside general counsel, fielding questions from company executives and managers operating in all departments, including land, finance and engineering. Our attorneys are recognized throughout the industry for providing proactive, strategic advice that helps energy clients address their immediate concerns while positioning their companies for future success.

Litigation

Our attorneys are well-positioned to handle the full range of litigation matters that arise within the oil and gas industry. We combine advanced litigation skills with intrinsic knowledge of the industry to secure optimal outcomes for our clients. While we are prepared to aggressively advance our clients’ interests at every phase of the litigation process, we take a business-minded approach which adds value and helps ensure that our clients secure the results they are seeking.

Regulatory

Rapidly changing laws and regulations can be particularly demanding for clients operating in the oil and gas industry. The attorneys at Dickie McCamey understand these challenges and provide our clients with the regulatory guidance and support they need to successfully advance their business enterprises. Our legal team represents companies in matters relating to statutory unitization, pooling, zoning, permitting, land use and other issues before various regulatory boards, including the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

We are one of only a handful of law firms experienced in representing clients in unitization hearings before the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Our attorneys have also represented oil and gas companies attempting to navigate overly restrictive zoning ordinances imposed by municipalities in Pennsylvania. Additionally, we regularly assist clients with regulatory issues stemming from the leasing of state-owned and municipal-owned lands, as well as lands owned by state-run departments, such as departments of conservation and natural resources.

Midstream/Pipeline

Our team routinely advises interstate and intrastate midstream companies on day-to-day operations including: transactions; litigation; agreements and contracts; transportation, gathering and processing contracts; pipeline right-of-way agreements and easements; and compressor site and property/land acquisitions.

For further information on the capabilities of our Energy Group, contact Jesse J. Zirillo at 412-392-5342 or jzirillo@dmclaw.com.

Attorneys