C Ray Lees

Practice Areas

Ray Lees advises oil and gas companies on corporate transactional and commercial matters, with an emphasis on upstream and midstream oil and gas transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, finance, and real estate. He has advised clients on some of the oil and gas industry’s largest conventional and unconventional oil and gas acquisition and divestiture transactions, including deals with a combined value of more than $100 billion over the last fifteen years in the Bakken, Barnett, Eagle Ford, Fayetteville, Haynesville, Marcellus, Mississippi Lime, Niobrara, Permian, SCOOP, STACK, Uinta, and Utica plays. He has also counseled clients in equity commitments from private investors and energy financing transactions involving oil and gas and midstream assets across the country.

Ray’s oil and gas experience includes negotiating and drafting purchase and sale agreements, swap agreements, development agreements, limited liability company agreements, transition services agreements, seismic licenses, mineral leases, royalty agreements, net profit interest agreements, marketing agreements, and other agreements and instruments customary in connection with oil & gas joint ventures, acquisitions, and divestitures.

Career

Prior to joining the Porter Hedges, Mr. Lees was the managing partner at the Commercial Law Group, P.C. in Oklahoma City.

Professional Memberships

Oklahoma Bar Association, Member

American Bar Association, Member

Experience

Ray’s representations have included the following:

Acquisitions and Divestitures:

● An exploration and production company in the sale of oil and gas assets in the Upper Devonian, Marcellus

and Utica shales for $5.375 billion.

● An exploration and production company in acquiring Permian Basin acreage for $726 million.

● An exploration and production company in its $4.75 billion sale of Fayetteville Shale interests.

● An independent oil and natural gas company in its $1.75 billion acquisition of shale acreage in the Southern

Utica and Southern Marcellus plays.

● An independent oil and natural gas company in its $2.5 billion acquisition of shale acreage in the Southern

Permian Basin.

● An exploration and production company in its $5.375 billion sale of Southern Marcellus Shale interests and a

portion of its Eastern Utica Shale assets in West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

● The midstream subsidiary of an exploration and production company in its $2.16 billion sale of gas-gathering

assets in Eagle Ford, Utica, Niobrara, Haynesville, and Marcellus Shale plays.

Joint Ventures:

● An exploration and production company in a $3.4 billion Utica Shale joint venture with an international

energy company.

● An exploration and production company in a $2.25 billion Barnett Shale joint venture with an international

energy company.

● An exploration and production company in a $3.375 billion Marcellus Shale joint venture with an

international energy company.

● An exploration and production company in a $1.9 billion Fayetteville Shale joint venture with an international

energy company.

● An exploration and production company in a $2.2 billion Eagle Ford Shale joint venture with an international

energy company.

Education

Awards