Representative Matters: Pipelines & Gathering

The founder of GAILLE PLLC started his career at Vinson & Elkins working for the largest pipeline companies in the world and continues with his firm to represent the industry today on a wide range of commercial and EPC matters.

PIPELINE, PUMP STATION, AND COMPRESSOR STATION CONSTRUCTION

  • Michigan.  $600 MM tunnel construction project (lump sum basis)
  • Minnesota.  $1 B construction contract for replacement of existing crude oil pipeline (actual cost basis)
  • North Dakota.  $250 MM construction contract for crude oil pipeline (unit price basis)
  • Texas.  $600 MM construction contract for 42- and 48-inch natural gas pipeline and associated compressor stations (guaranteed maximum price basis)
  • Minnesota.  $200 MM of construction contracts for multiple crude oil pump stations (actual cost basis)
  • Texas. Construction contract for $100 MM natural gas pipeline (cost-plus fixed fee)
  • Gulf of Mexico.  Offshore and onshore crude oil terminal engineering and construction (formulaic actual cost basis).
  • Ohio and Pennsylvania. $200 MM EPC agreement for compressor station emissions upgrades (unit price basis)
  • Pennsylvania. $500 MM construction contract for ten new natural gas compression stations (formulaic actual cost basis)
  • Virginia. Construction and drilling agreements for new gas storage facility
  • Mexico.  Concrete coating agreement for ~500 miles of 42-inch offshore natural gas pipeline
  • Mexico.  Fixed price, lump sum offshore pipeline construction contract for ~500 miles of 42-inch offshore natural gas pipeline
  • Qatar and United Arab Emirates. EPC contracts related to the construction of $4 B natural gas pipeline and related facilities, including 48-inch subsea pipeline from Qatar to United Arab Emirates
  • Canada.  EPC agreement for onsite natural gas power generation for terminal facility
  • Canada.  EPC agreement for solar panel project (lump sum)
  • Canada.  Camp agreement for construction and operation of labor camp in remote area (blend of actual costs and lump sums)
  • United States and Canada.  Suspension agreements for more than 100 construction and services contracts during COVID-19 pandemic
  • Various.  Onshore and offshore Geological Assessment Services Agreements for certain of the preceding projects
  • Various.   Engineering Services Agreements for certain of the preceding projects
  • Various.   Procurement of compressors, pipe, and other equipment for certain of the preceding projects

GAS GATHERING

  • Colorado. DJ Basin gas gathering agreements comprising more than 300,000 dedicated acres
  • West Texas. Permian gas gathering agreements comprising more than 100,000 dedicated acres
  • New Mexico. Gas gathering and processing agreement increasing minimum volume commitment in exchange for priority one service (higher preference in cases of curtailment)
  • South Texas. Negotiation of settlement for unrealized minimum volume commitments in gas gathering agreement
  • Texas Panhandle. Renegotiating and updating the terms and conditions of four gas gathering agreements for various development areas
  • Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. Conversion of fixed fee, dedicated area gas gathering and processing agreement to minimum volume, percentage of proceeds agreement

GAS SALES, TRANSPORTATION, AND INTERCONNECTION

  • Texas. Gas sales and other marketing arrangements
  • Texas. Gas pipeline interconnect agreements
  • Mexico. Interconnection agreements for cross border natural gas pipeline
  • Qatar. 2 BCF per day gas sales and purchase agreement
  • Qatar. Ethane sales and purchase agreement
  • United Arab Emirates. Three gas sales and purchase agreements with electricity companies, with varying minimum and maximum daily quantities
  • Oman. Seller nominated gas sales and purchase agreement
  • Bolivia and Brazil. Gas sales and purchase agreements and gas transportation agreements to supply electricity plants
  • Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. Gas sales and purchase agreements and gas transportation agreements to supply electricity plants
  • Mozambique. Gas sales and purchase agreements and gas transportation agreements to supply steel plant

LIQUIDS GATHERING AND MARKETING

  • Colorado. Oil gathering agreements
  • West Texas. Permian oil gathering agreements
  • Qatar and Japan. 150,000 barrels per day condensate sale agreement
  • Qatar and Japan. LPG sale and purchase agreements

SERVICES AGREEMENTS

  • Various.  Hundreds of master services agreements and standing agreements to facilitate pipeline services in the United States and elsewhere around the world
  • Various.  Engineering Services Agreements for various midstream projects
  • Various.  Geological Assessment Services Agreements for various midstream projects
  • United States. Two dozen master construction agreements for executing small construction projects

PROCUREMENT AGREEMENTS

  • Japan, India, Mexico, China.More than $500 MM of steel and pipe purchase agreements with various pipe manufacturers
  • United States and Canada. $600 MM of compression purchase agreements
  • Various.  Purchase orders and procurement arrangements for all manner of pipeline-related facilities

FRESH WATER SUPPLY AND PRODUCED WATER DISPOSAL

  • Colorado. Fresh water supply agreements for hydraulic fracturing
  • West Texas. Permian fresh water supply agreements for hydraulic fracturing
  • Colorado. Produced water gathering and disposal agreements
  • West Texas. Permian produced water gathering and disposal agreements

CHANGE DIRECTIVES, REQUESTS, AND ORDERS

  • United States.  Management of change process for multiple pipeline and compression construction projects, including drafting of change directives, responding to change requests, negotiation of change orders, and tracking of same
  • Texas.  Defense of pipeline owner receiving hundreds of change requests totaling more than $150 MM
  • Texas. Force majeure claims, including those arising from Hurricane Harvey
  • United States and Canada.  Defending and making force majeure claims arising from COVID-19 under various construction and services contracts
  • Texas. Insurance claims in respect of eight figure loss to offshore pipeline in storm
  • New York. Insurance claims in respect of nine figure loss of horizontal directional drill

MODEL AND FORM AGREEMENTS

  • Corporate Model Agreements Project.  Drafted model forms for the following agreements: (i) Construction Agreements (Lump Sum, Unit Price, Actual Cost Fixed Fee, Guaranteed Maximum Price, Actual Cost Formulaic Fee, and Time & Materials Versions); (ii) Master Construction Agreement; (iii) Master Services Agreement; (iv) Services Agreement; (v) Geological Assessment Services Agreement; (vi) Master Geological Assessment Services Agreement; (vii) Engineering Services Agreement; (viii) Master Engineering Services Agreement; and (ix) engineering and procurement modules for construction agreements
  • Model Construction Agreement.  Drafted form unit price construction agreement that has been used for several billions of dollars of projects to date
  • Model EPC Agreement. Drafted form engineering, procurement, and construction agreement used in hundreds of millions of dollars of projects to date
  • Model Master Construction Agreement. Drafted form of master construction agreement used in hundreds of millions of dollars of projects to date by thirty different pipeline contractors
  • Model Master Services Agreements. Drafted multiple form MSAs
  • Model Purchase Orders. Drafted multiple form purchase orders

PROJECT TEAM TRAINING

  • Agreement Handbooks. Drafted agreement handbooks for use in conjunction with form or model agreements; agreement handbooks provide an alphabetical, encyclopedia-like summary of key terms and conditions of frequently used agreements
  • Project Handbooks. Drafted project handbooks for use in conjunction with execution of major construction projects; project handbooks provide an alphabetical, encyclopedia-like summary of key rights and obligations of the suite of agreements governing the project
  • Annotated Agreements. Drafted annotated agreements for use with form or model agreements; annotated agreements identify provisions that are most likely to receive comments from counter-parties and provide fallback or compromise positions in order of preference
  • Training Sessions. Created power point presentations to train business units regarding model agreements and project teams regarding their rights and obligations; taught multiple training sessions at headquarters and project locations