Energy & Natural
Resources
Paul, Weiss’s energy and natural resources practice draws on our broad experience in the industry to provide clients with the sophisticated, agile and strategic transactional, litigation and regulatory knowledge they need to navigate their most complex legal challenges and take advantage of emerging business opportunities. We advise some of the world’s leading traditional and renewable energy companies, mining companies, and utilities, as well as investors in the sector, including financial institutions, alternative asset managers and other important stakeholders, providing holistic, commercial guidance amid a rapidly changing global energy environment.
Recent Engagements
- The Special Committee of Avangrid in the $2.6 billion acquisition of the company’s remaining shares by Iberdrola
- Cenovus Energy in its Cdn. $23.6 billion combination with Husky Energy
- Chevron in its $60 billion acquisition of Hess Corporation; $13 billion acquisition of Noble Energy; $7.6 billion acquisition of PDC Energy; $3.15 billion acquisition of Renewable Energy Group; and proposed $50 billion acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum
- Endeavor Energy Resources in its $26 billion merger with Diamondback Energy
- General Electric in the spin-off of GE Vernova
- Noble Corporation in its $2.1 billion acquisition of Diamond Offshore Drilling
- Suncor Energy in its Cdn. $5.5 billion acquisition of TotalEnergies’ Canadian operations
- Exxon Mobil Corporation in climate change-related investigations and suits brought by regulators, including state attorneys general deploying untested liability theories. These matters include representing the company in substantially defeating a class certification motion in a long-running putative federal securities class action alleging that the defendants made a series of purportedly false and misleading statements about the company’s proved reserves, asset impairments, and its use of proxy and greenhouse gas costs in its business planning, among other claims; an SEC investigation concerning climate change-related disclosures that was closed with a no-action determination; and winning a complete defense verdict in a landmark securities fraud action brought by the New York Attorney General seeking $1.6 billion in damages—the first climate change-related lawsuit to be tried to verdict nationally. Paul, Weiss is also advising ExxonMobil on government tort, shareholder securities and other climate change-related matters arising in various proceedings worldwide
- NextEra Energy in the dismissal, with prejudice, of a federal securities class action alleging that the company made false and misleading statements in connection with the legal and reputational risks arising from the political activity of its subsidiary Florida Power and Light
- Hecate Holdings in a high-stakes litigation against Repsol Renewables North America in the Delaware Court of Chancery regarding Repsol’s failure to consummate a put transaction
- Glencore International in securing the dismissal, affirmed on appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, of a multibillion-dollar antitrust, fraud and corruption lawsuit brought against international oil trading companies by a U.S. litigation trust allegedly established by Venezuela’s national oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), alleging that the oil trading companies conspired to obtain inside information about tenders for the sale and purchase of oil and oil products
- The former members of the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Pattern Energy Group Inc., a California-based independent power company, in the successful resolution of two separate shareholder class actions brought in the Delaware Court of Chancery and in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, asserting breach of fiduciary duty claims related to Pattern Energy’s $6.1 billion merger agreement with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB)
- Dominion Diamond in securing the dismissal of a putative shareholder class action alleging breach of fiduciary duty, negligent misrepresentation and quasi-appraisal claims arising out of Dominion’s $1.2 billion acquisition by The Washington Companies
- Kirkland Lake Gold, as well as its former CEO, in securing summary judgment in a securities fraud class action arising from alleged misrepresentations about its strategy for future acquisitions of gold mining companies
