Ming Lei

Ming Lei advises clients on domestic and international M&A (especially in connection with oil and gas assets acquisitions and divestitures), project finance and development, private equity investments and commercial contracts in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

Her experience includes drafting and negotiating purchase and sale agreements, merger agreements, exploration and development agreements, joint venture agreements, joint development agreement, joint operating agreements, AMI agreements, and oilfield services agreements.

Ming also has significant midstream experience in drafting oil/gas/produced water gathering agreements, oil/gas/produced water transportation agreements, marine terminalling agreements, agreements of marketer and other midstream contracts.

Ming also regularly advises Chinese companies with respect to their investments, projects, transactions, disputes resolution and regulatory compliance matters in the US.

Experience:

• Representing oil and gas companies and private equity investors on bids for oil & gas properties in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Colorado. (Ongoing)
• Representing oil and gas companies in connection with the negotiation and drafting of midstream contracts, including transportation, gathering, and marketing agreements. (Ongoing)
• Representing marine terminal companies in connection with their day-to-day terminal services agreements. (Ongoing)
• Representing E&P companies and oilfield service providers in their day-to-day drilling and service agreements. (Ongoing)
• Represented a privately held E&P company in its $285+ million equity and debt finance with a private equity fund in connection with its exploration and development activities in the Midland Basin. (2018)
• Represented Hilcorp Energy in its $2.7 billion acquisition of oil and gas properties in the San Juan Basin in New Mexico from Conoco Philips. (2017)
• Represented GSO, as a financial partner with Sanchez Energy, in the structuring of their joint venture in connection with the purchase by Sanchez and Blackstone of oil and gas properties in the Eagle Ford Shale from Anadarko for $2.3 billion. (2017)
• Represented Tokyo Gas America Ltd. in its 30% strategic equity investment into Castleton Resources LLC, a subsidiary of Castleton Commodities International LLC which owns upstream and midstream assets in East Texas and Louisiana. (2017)
• Represented a large independent exploration and production company in the conveyance of a gas gathering system and oil terminal in the Permian Basin to its midstream affiliates and the drafting and negotiation of the related gas gathering agreement and oil terminal services agreement. (2017)
• Represented a privately held E&P company in the acquisition of Anadarko Basin oil and gas properties from a major public oil and gas company for $385 million. (2016)
• Represented a privately held E&P company in the acquisition of Anadarko Basin oil and gas properties from private equity backed E&P company for $200+ million. (2017)
• Represented a privately held E&P company in the acquisition of San Juan Basin oil and gas properties from a major public oil and gas company for $170 million. (2017)
• Represented a major global energy company in an extensive internal review and summary of all project documents and commercial agreements relating to the company’s entire wind energy project portfolio in the United States, including wind energy projects in Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Texas. (2018)
• Represented Representation of a privately held E&P company in a $525 million equity capital raise from private equity fund in connection with its acquisition of certain strategic upstream and midstream assets in the Anadarko Basin. (2017)
• Represented NuStar Energy L.P. in its $1.5 billion acquisition of Navigator Energy Services, LLC which owns crude oil transportation, pipeline gathering and storage assets in the Midland Basin. (2017)
• Represented privately held E&P company in its $130 million acquisition of an overriding royalty interest in West Texas acreage. (2016)
• Represented a large independent oil and gas company in its sale of Eagle Ford Shale oil and gas properties for $100 million. (2016)
• Represented a large independent oil and gas company in its sale of oil and gas properties in West Oklahoma in consideration of $60 million and certain acreage. (2017)
• Represented a large independent company in an asset exchange transaction with respect to certain acreage in New Mexico and Texas with a major public oil and gas company. (2017)
• Represented a privately held E&P company in the acquisition of South Louisiana crude oil gathering and transportation pipeline system from publicly held energy company. (2016)
• Represented the underwriters in a $93 million equity offering by Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (2018)
• Represented the conflicts committee of Enviva Partners in a drop-down acquisition of marine terminals and logistics business worth $130 million. (2016)
• Represented an Asian company in its acquisition of natural gas assets in Permian Basin for $45 million. (2016)
• Represented a private company in its acquisition of a clean coal gasification plant located outside of West Terre Haute, Indiana. (2015)

EDUCATION:

• JD, Duke University School of Law, 2015
• BA, Wuhan University, 2011

BAR ADMISSIONS:

• Texas
• New York
• P.R. China

Memberships:

• Houston Young Lawyers Association (HYLA)
• Texas Bar Association
• Asian American Bar Association of Houston (AABA)