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Douglas S. Bland
![Douglas S. Bland](https://media.velaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20140617/000649_Bland_4x5_web-819x1024.jpg)
Texas Tower
845 Texas Avenue
Suite 4700
Houston, Texas 77002
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Doug Bland works with the development, purchase and sale of energy-related projects and assets. For more than 35 years, he has represented private equity firms and large and small companies in the upstream, midstream, downstream and renewable energy sectors in a variety of transactions, including joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, as well as project financing for everything from pipelines to power plants.
In the midstream sector, Doug structures transactions involving refining and petrochemicals; natural gas gathering, processing, storage and transportation; and oil and condensate transportation, storage and terminalling. He works in the upstream space facilitating large shale development joint ventures, and acquisitions and sales of oil and gas properties. Doug also handles transactions involving renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power in addition to other electric power projects.
Though his practice is based largely in North America, his matters have also taken him around the world, from Argentina to Turkmenistan. Throughout his career, Doug has been recognized by multiple legal publications, including Chambers USA, where a reviewer called him “smart and thoughtful” and a “zealous advocate for his clients.”
Experience Highlights
Heliogen in an arrangement with Woodside Energy (USA) to jointly market Heliogen’s solar energy technology in Australia for heat, power and possible hydrogen applications and the commercial-scale demonstration deployment at a proposed facility in Mojave, California
Plains All American Pipeline in the sale of three interconnected crude oil terminals and associated pipeline infrastructure in Los Angeles to Zenith Energy U.S.
Plains All American Pipeline in a transaction whereby Black Diamond Gathering, a joint venture between Noble Midstream Partners and Greenfield Midstream, acquired a 20% interest in the Saddlehorn Pipeline for $155 million
Borealis in its acquisition of NOVA Chemicals Corporation’s 50% ownership interest in Novealis Holdings, a joint venture between affiliates of Borealis and NOVA Chemicals
A leading midstream company in a $11 billion drop down of its U.S. transmission, storage and liquids assets to its MLP
Trafigura AG in the sale of a majority stake in its Corpus Christi Terminal and associated Eagle Ford assets in South Texas, and related joint ownership arrangements
KNOC in its $1.55 billion joint venture to buy a stake in the liquids-rich Eagle Ford shale in Texas from Anadarko Petroleum, including subsequent sale of minority interest by KNOC to VOGO
Velocys plc in a joint venture with Waste Management, NRG Energy, and Ventech Engineers International to develop gas-to-liquids plants in the United States and other select geographies
SandRidge Energy in $1.12 billion sale of its Gulf of Mexico offshore and Gulf Coast assets to Fieldwood Energy, LLC
Summit Midstream Partners (Summit Investments), with affiliates of GSO Capital Partners and Bear Tracker Investments, in the $513 million acquisition of 100% equity interests in Bear Tracker Energy, a full-service midstream company
Royal Dutch Shell in its $4.7 billion acquisition of East Resources, a major owner of shale gas holdings in the northeast United States, from private investors
PAA Natural Gas Storage in the $750 million acquisition of a natural gas storage company in Mississippi
Direct Energy in separate acquisitions of the Bastrop Energy Center (540 MW), the Frontera Generating Facility (477 MW), and the Paris Energy Center (240 MW), three gas-fired, combined-cycle electric generating facilities
Duke Energy in the $685 million sale of substantially all of its natural gas and electric power trading book to Barclays Capital, and a separate $715 million sale of Cinegy’s trading and marketing business in the U.S. and Canada to Fortis
Huntsman International in the sale of its base chemicals and polymers business units to Flint Hills Resources
SandRidge Energy in its $1 billion sale and development joint venture with Repsol in the Mississippian Lime, and its $500 million sale and development joint venture with Atinum Partners in the Mississippian Lime
Investment by Sundrop Fuels, a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy, and ongoing development, financing, and construction of a $450 million advanced biofuels facility utilizing natural gas and biomass to produce drop-in transportation fuels
BG Group in the development of a multitrain, multibillion dollar LNG project in Lake Charles, Louisiana, including involvement in the feedstock, off-take, and other project-related agreements
Plains All American in its creation of a joint venture entity with a private equity fund and the acquisition by that entity of a natural gas storage facility in Michigan and a gas storage facility under development in Louisiana, followed by a $320 million project financing of the Louisiana facility that included a Term Loan B tranche and a Revolver Loan tranche (co-counsel)
NRG Energy in development and co-ownership arrangements for a 550 MW natural gas-fired power plant under construction at NRG’s Cedar Bayou Power Station in Texas
The governments of Curaçao and the Netherlands Antilles, and their subsidiaries, in the development, investment in, and project financing of a $212 million electric power, steam, potable water, and compressed air plant at the Isla Refinery in Curaçao (co-counsel for the development)
BG Group in a 20-year, 3.5 million tonnes per annum purchase and sale agreement for LNG to be produced at Cheniere Energy Partners’ Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Louisiana
A Danish wind turbine manufacturer in the development of the 280+MW King Mountain Wind Farm in Texas
eSolar in connection with a transaction with NRG Energy, Inc. for the development of three solar thermal power plants totaling up to 500 MW in the U.S
M3 Midstream LLC in the joint venture with affiliates of Chesapeake Midstream Development and EV Energy Partners to develop and operate natural gas gathering, compression, processing, fractionation, loading, and terminalling facilities in the Utica Shale
Copano Energy in its joint venture with Magellan Midstream to deliver condensate from the Eagle Ford Shale to Corpus Christi, Texas
Energy Transfer Partners in the $1.2 billion joint venture with Kinder Morgan to develop a 187-mile interstate natural gas pipeline originating in the Fayetteville shale
BP Alternative Energy North America, Inc. in its joint venture transaction with Clipper Windpower
A turbine erection contractor in several wind power projects in Texas, and in the creation of a joint venture to provide cranage services
Velocys in the creation of ventures to develop technology in various fields of use involving the energy and chemical businesses
Duke Energy in the creation of a joint venture and subsequent development of, a 600 MW combined-cycle merchant power plant in Arizona, including participating in the negotiation of the EPC, operation and maintenance, fuel supply, and electric power allocation agreements (co-counsel for the development)
Samsung Heavy Industries and Samsung Engineering in the creation of a joint venture entity with AMEC to carry out the design engineering for fixed and floating offshore platforms, FPSOs, and subsea pipelines
Credentials
- University of Michigan Law School, J.D. cum laude, 1984 (Order of the Coif; Contributing Editor, Michigan Law Review)
- University of Virginia, B.A., Economics with high honors, 1981 (Phi Beta Kappa)
- Chambers Global, Energy & Natural Resources (USA), 2014–2016; Energy: Oil & Gas (Transactional)(USA), 2012–2014 and 2017–2024; Projects, 2006 and 2009–2013
- Chambers USA, Energy: Oil & Gas (Transactional)(Nationwide), 2010–2015 and 2017−2024; Projects, 2008–2012
- Legal 500 U.S., Project Finance, 2008, 2010, 2013, and 2014; Energy Transactions, 2014, 2015, 2019, and 2020; Construction, 2014 and 2018; Energy: Transactions: Oil & Gas, 2019–2021, 2023 and 2024
- Expert Guides, Best of the Best USA, Energy and Natural Resources, 2022
- Who’s Who Legal (Law Business Research Ltd.), Energy, 2013–2016 and 2020; Project Finance, 2007–2008, 2014–2017, 2022-2023; Energy: Oil & Gas, 2022; Energy: Oil & Gas, “Thought Leader (USA),” 2024; Project Finance, 2024
- The International Who’s Who of Project Finance Lawyers (Law Business Research Ltd.), 2010–2013
- The International Who’s Who of Oil and Gas Lawyers (Law Business Research Ltd.), 2007, 2010–2011, and 2013
- Legal Media Group’s (Euromoney’s) Expert Guide to the World’s Leading Energy and Natural Resource Lawyers, 2007–2013
- Legal Media Group’s (Euromoney’s) Expert Guide to the World’s Leading Banking, Financial and Transactional Law Lawyers, 2013
- LMG Cleantech & Renewable Energy, Cleantech 100, 2013
- The Best Lawyers in America© (BL Rankings, LLC), (Houston): Corporate Law, 1995–2025; Energy Law, 2006–2025; Project Finance Law, 2006–2025; Mergers & Acquisitions Law, 2007–2025
- Selected to the Texas Super Lawyers list, Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters), 2003–2020 and 2022
- IFLR1000, 2020–2023
- Selected to the 500 Leading Energy Lawyers, Lawdragon, 2023 and 2024
- Texas
- Rankings & AwardsJune 12, 2024
- Rankings & AwardsJune 6, 2024
- Deals & CasesJune 6, 2024
- Enbridge to Enter into JV Connecting Permian Basin Natural Gas Supply to Growing LNG and USGC DemandDeals & CasesMarch 27, 2024
- Rankings & AwardsFebruary 15, 2024
- Deals & CasesJanuary 11, 2024
- Rankings & AwardsAugust 21, 2023
- InsightAugust 18, 2023
Previously Published by Chambers 2023 Energy: Oil & Gas Global Practice Guide
- Rankings & AwardsJuly 14, 2023
- Rankings & AwardsJune 12, 2023
- Rankings & AwardsJune 1, 2023
- Rankings & AwardsMarch 17, 2023
- Deals & CasesMarch 2, 2023
- Rankings & AwardsFebruary 16, 2023
- Deals & CasesNovember 3, 2022
- Deals & CasesSeptember 22, 2022
- IFLR1000 2022 Recognizes Vinson & Elkins in 21 Practice Categories, Recommends 49 Individual LawyersRankings & AwardsAugust 25, 2022
- Rankings & AwardsAugust 18, 2022
- Deals & CasesAugust 17, 2022
- Deals & CasesJune 9, 2022
- Rankings & AwardsJune 1, 2022
- Deals & CasesMay 16, 2022
- Rankings & AwardsMarch 29, 2022
- Deals & CasesMarch 29, 2022
- Rankings & AwardsFebruary 17, 2022
- Deals & CasesJuly 13, 2021
- Deals & CasesJune 8, 2021
- “Upstream Transactional Update: DrillCos Under Review and Producer Midstream Gathering JVs,” V&E Houston Office, November 8, 2017 (speaker)