Ben Clark is a member of Sutherland's Energy and Environmental Practice Group. He has extensive experience representing the energy industry in merger and acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances. His energy client base has included traditional exploration and production companies, electric and gas utilities, pipelines and refineries.
Representative Experience
Ben's extensive mergers and acquisitions experience includes:
Electric and Gas Utility
· Representing an energy services company in its acquisition of a natural gas utilities, storage and pipeline company.
· Representing a client in the acquisition of Hawaii's only full-service gas energy company.
· Representing an energy company in a merger with a major utility company.
· Representing a public utility holding company in its sale to one of the nation's largest investor-owned energy companies.
· Representing a public utility in the sale of its regulated electric utility operations and simultaneous split-off of the company's unregulated operations.
· Representing a public utility holding company in the acquisition of Connecticut's largest natural gas distribution company.
Pipeline
· Representing an energy holding company in its acquisition of a natural gas company.
· Advising holding companies on the purchase and subsequent refinancing of a natural gas pipeline.
· Representing a natural gas company in the sale of its partnership interests in a Louisiana intrastate pipeline.
· Representing a natural gas compression services provider in the sale of contractual rights and related assets in various pipeline compression stations.
Exploration & Production
· Representing a Malaysian-based oil company in a successful bid for interest in an offshore oil and gas block in Southeast Asia.
· Representing a Chinese-owned import and export company in the acquisition of an interest in Ecuador's Amazon Basin.
· Representing an oil and gas exploration company in the competitive bid sale of oil and gas assets.
· Representing a client in the auction sale of its oil and gas exploration assets.
· Representing a client in the acquisition of a domestic exploration company.
Oilfield Service
· Representing a publicly held foreign oilfield service company in the purchase of a downhole drilling technology company.
· Representing a publicly held foreign oilfield service company in the purchase of a Houston-based specialty drilling machine shop.
· Representing a publicly held foreign oilfield service company in the purchase of a specialty drilling manufacturing company.
· Representing a financial institution in the sale of a flexible downhole pipe business.
· Representing a publicly held foreign oilfield service company in the unsuccessful bid for a public specialty drilling rig company.
· Representing a publicly held foreign oilfield service company in the acquisition for a specialty downhole equipment and technology company.
Water Utility
· Representing a Northeast-based publicly held water utility in the $2.16 billion going-private sale of remaining outstanding public shares to its majority shareholder, a major multinational water concern.
· Representing a water service utility in its approximately $100 million sale to a publicly held water company.
Refinery
· Advising a client in a project involving the purchase of a refinery, relocation of half of the facility to another client location, resale and removal of the remaining units and grass roots construction of additional units.
· Representing an oil company in an asset purchase of a small refinery on the Gulf Coast.
· Representing an oil company in the sale of a small Louisiana refinery.
General
· Representing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in its natural gas initiative, which was planned to result in an approximately $30 billion investment in the natural gas, natural gas products, power, water and petrochemical sectors of the Kingdom's economy.
· Representing a natural gas company in the acquisition of a 20 percent interest in an energy products and services provider.
· Representing a commodity trading firm in the formation of a joint venture with a sovereign wealth fund for the acquisition of contractual interest in a power generation facility.
· Representing a consortium of four international oil companies and the national state oil company in various aspects of an LNG project in Angola.
Professional and Community Involvement
· Member, American Bar Association
· Member, Houston Bar Association
· Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
News
Sutherland Advises Schoeller-Bleckmann Oilfield Equipment AG in Acquisition of Drilling Systems International Ltd.
September 17, 2010
"Sutherland Nabs Dewey M&A Atty For Energy Practice"
January 7, 2010 Reprinted with permission Law 360, http://www.law360.com
Sutherland Strengthens Energy Practice in Houston with Addition of M&A Partner
January 6, 2010