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People

Gerry Morton
Gerry Morton
Gerry Morton
Partner
[email protected]
Details
Overview
Overview Admissions & Affiliations Experience News Thought Leadership Awards and Community
Practices
Energy Private Equity
Global Projects
Joint Ventures
Mergers and Acquisitions
Private Equity and Private Capital
Venezuela Task Force
Industries
Energy
Midstream and Pipeline Transportation
Mining and Metals
Oil and Gas
Shale and Unconventionals
Upstream

Overview

Gerry Morton has spent over 40 years in the energy industry, primarily in-house, counseling boards and executive management of mid-size public and private oil and gas exploration and development companies on a day-to-day basis in all aspects of their business including oil and gas matters, mineral exploration and development, energy transition projects, mergers, divestitures and acquisitions, financings and shareholder activism.

Gerry has also designed and led multiple joint venture arrangements for oil and gas exploration and development projects between U.S. and Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Canadian and European companies, as well as structures for co-investment by U.S. public and private equity backed entities and sponsors.

In addition, Gerry has spent a significant portion of his career in business development throughout Asia, the Pacific and Europe working with governments, state owned entities and others in oil and gas exploration and development projects. Utilizing his business and technical background, Gerry has also held an operational leadership role related to operations in Thailand, Hungary and elsewhere.

Admissions & Affiliations

  • State Bar of Texas
  • Association of International Petroleum Negotiators
  • American Society of Corporate Secretaries
  • American Corporate Counsel Association
  • The Texas General Counsel Forum
  • BYU Geological Sciences Alumni Board-Chairman, 2006-2016
  • American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 1982-2018
  • U.S./China Oil and Gas Forum, Steering Committee Member, 2014-2019

Education

  • J.D., University of Houston Law Center 1988
  • M.B.A., Finance, University of Houston 1984
  • B.S., Engineering Geology , Brigham Young University 1982

Experience

  • General Counsel, Corporate Secretarial and Corporate Governance Experience – over 6 years of providing outside general counsel services to public and private companies both inside and outside the oil and gas industry; 11 years at Carrizo Oil & Gas and over 10 years at Pogo Producing Company preparing agendas, minutes, resolutions and counseling the Board of Directors, its committees and senior management on a range of matters including, but not limited to: corporate structuring, Board and management succession, three shareholder activism events, three special investigations, recommendation and adoption of corporate governance policies, numerous internal policies and procedures, contract administration, employment agreements, severance arrangements and other matters. This work also included counseling regarding various types of litigation, from contract disputes to royalty litigation, employment litigation and IP litigation. Also provided “outside general counsel services” to Laredo Energy, LLC and a number of other clients.
  • Midstream Matters – Represented both upstream companies and mid-stream companies in (i) negotiating gathering, transportation, processing, terminaling services and sales agreements (including both NAESB and non-traditional forms), and (ii) counseling regarding the viability and enforceability of dedication provisions in the bankruptcy context, as well as A&D transactions in the Niobrara, Marcellus, and Eagle Ford plays.
  • M&A Transactions – $17 billion merger of Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation with Cimarex Energy Co.; $1.5 Billion acquisition of Haynesville assets by JERA; $900 million sale of Laredo Energy, LLC; $3.2 billion merger of Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. with Callon Petroleum Company; $200 million merger of Carrizo UK North Sea (Huntington) with Iona Petroleum Co.; $750 million merger of North Central Oil Corporation with Pogo Producing Company; and numerous other smaller transactions.
  • Energy Transition and Strategic Minerals – Carbon sequestration exploration agreements, leases and offshore Texas bid rounds; a hydrogen storage project; an ethane storage project; produced water and CO2 injection and storage projects; stream agreement investment in a disseminated copper mining project; counseling geologic hydrogen companies; geothermal companies and evaluation of lithium projects.
  • U.S. Joint Venture Transactions – Inward investment of well over $2.5 billion through the following joint ventures: several complex long-term joint ventures in the Haynesville Shale (JERA and a second unnamed operator); CCUS joint venture (Repsol, Carbonvert and Mitsui); Barnett Shale (Sumitomo); Marcellus Shale (Reliance Industries); Multiple Eagle Ford Shale joint ventures (GAIL, Eagle Ford Minerals and other unnamed non-operators); and Niobrara Shale (OIL India, Indian Oil Corp., Lanzhou Haimo Technologies).
  • Private Equity Joint Ventures – Utica Shale (Avista Capital Partners); Barnett Shale (KKR); Marcellus Shale (Avista Capital Partners).
  • International Joint Ventures – Multiple UK North Sea farmouts and joint ventures by Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. with Nexen Petroleum; joint venture operations with Premier, E.On, Noreco and Wintershall; Farmouts and joint venture operations in New Zealand, Hungary, Vietnam and Thailand with companies such as Chevron, Unocal, Mitsui, OMV, Mighty River Power and Keeper Resources.
  • Other Domestic A&D Transactions – private sales of assets (Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Permian (Delaware and Midland sub-basins), West Virginia, Midcontinent and the San Juan basin; publicly announced: MDC Energy, State of Wyoming (Surface, Minerals & trona); Devon Energy (Delaware Basin); Admiral (Permian Basin); EP Energy (Eagle Ford); Verdad (Niobrara); Kalnin (Marcellus); Ascent (Utica); ExL Petroleum property (Delaware Basin); Sanchez Energy (Eagle Ford); Eagle Ford Minerals (Eagle Ford); Avista Capital (Utica); EnerVest (Barnett Shale); Scout Energy (North Texas); Chief Energy (Marcellus); White Oak Energy (Gulf Coast); Halcon Energy (Eagle Ford); ARP Barnett (Barnett); KKR (Barnett); Atlas Resources Partners (Barnett); Minerals A&D transactions in the Eagle Ford, Mid-continent, Permian and Marcellus regions; and two Barnett Shale Land Bank transactions (Hartz Capital and an undisclosed investor).
  • Other International A&D Transactions – $820 million sale of Thailand assets to PTTEP and Mitsui; bareboat charters for an FPSO with SBM Offshore and an FSO with Tanker Pacific; US aspects of a major Canadian A&D transaction and capital raise.
  • Public and Private Offerings – $650 million secured second lien notes; $250 million preferred stock and warrants; $250 million redemption of $250 million high-yield offering; $650 million high yield note offering with tender offer; $300 million high yield note offering; $300 million "tack-on"; $400 million high yield note offering and $200 million "tack-on"; $374 million convertible note offering; multiple common stock offerings. Both initial and secondary offerings under Rule 144A and otherwise.

Awards and Community

Recognized by The Texas General Counsel Forum as "Solo General Counsel of the Year," 2009

Recognized by The Texas General Counsel Forum as "Small Legal Department of the Year-Nominee Finalist," 2011 & 2015

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for work in Oil and Gas Law, 2027