Hunter Summerford

J. Hunter Summerford is a Partner in the Houston office of Locke Lord LLP where he concentrates his practice on energy and oil and gas matters. Hunter has extensive acquisition and divestiture experience with respect to upstream assets, and additionally represents and counsels oil and gas companies in all phases of their business operations and transactions, with a particular emphasis on the midstream space.

He has broad experience in the midstream and downstream sectors relating to the construction and operation of petrochemical facilities, pipelines, storage facilities and related assets, including drafting and negotiation of gathering, exchange and transportation agreements; processing agreements; feedstock and offtake agreements; and master services agreements.

Representative Experience :

• Lead associate in representing Felix Energy, LLC in its $1.9 billion divestiture of developed and undeveloped oil and gas properties in Oklahoma’s stack play to Devon Energy Corp
• Lead associate in representing Energen Resources in its $400,000,000 divestiture of producing and undeveloped oil and gas properties located in the Permian Basin
• Lead associate in representing Memorial Production Operating LLC in its $100 million acquisition of producing properties located in the outer continental shelf
• Lead associate in representing Rio Oil and Gas, LLC and Bluestem Energy, LP in their approximately $575,000,000 divestiture of developed and undeveloped oil and gas properties in Texas and New Mexico
• Lead associate in representing PCORE Exploration & Production, LLC in its $150 million divestiture of certain developed and undeveloped oil and gas properties
• Lead associate in representing energy client with respect to its day-to-day operations, including the negotiation and drafting of vendor and customer purchase and sales agreements with values up to $1 billion
• Assisted in representing energy client in the $7 billion acquisition of a competitor’s oil and gas operations, acreage and infrastructure in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico and in Egypt’s Western Desert, as well as their upstream natural gas business in western Alberta and British Columbia
• Assisted in representing energy client in its $560 million acquisition of a 65% stake in a competitor which owns one of the world’s largest ammonia production plant in Western Australia and subsequent disposition of 40% of said stake
• Represented multiple portfolio companies in the negotiation and drafting of various midstream agreements, including gathering, processing and construction agreements
• Represented energy client in the negotiation and drafting of underground storage and brining lease.
• Representation of energy client in connection with the negotiation and drafting of its feedstock and offtake agreements
• Assisted in representing energy client in its capacity as lead underwriter in connection with the initial public offering of a Canadian Income Trust holding solely U.S. oil and gas assets
• Assisted in representing energy client in connection the multi-well development of Outer Continental Shelf leases in the Gulf of Mexico

Professional History :

• Associate, Locke Lord LLP (2013-2016)
• Associate, Bracewell & Giuliani, Houston (2008-2013)

Education :

• J.D., honors, The University of Texas School of Law, 2008
• Master of Taxation, magna cum laude, The University of Mississippi, E.H. Paterson School of Accountancy, 2003
• Bachelor of Accountancy, summa cum laude, University of Mississippi, 2002

Admissions : Texas