Our Oil and Gas Group

With first-rate service to help you achieve the best possible results, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) has been, and continues to be, at the forefront of the Canadian oil and gas industry. We understand the complex legal and practical issues that present unique business, regulatory and legal challenges to our clients.

Coming to the table with significant experience and diverse oil and gas legal expertise, BLG is able to cater to your needs. We have represented a variety of clients — ranging from oil and gas exploration and production, gas pipelines and transmission, petrochemicals, oil sands, heavy oil, coal and methane, infrastructure and utilities as well as energy service companies that supports all aspects of the oil and gas sector.

We provide counsel with respect to mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, financing, taxation, commercial dispute resolution, regulatory matters, environmental issues including carbon credit trading, and Aboriginal legal issues.

Like you, BLG believes that nothing less than excellence will do. This commitment to service has resulted in frequent recognition of many of our legal professionals. Professionals in the Oil and Gas Group have been consistently ranked in the top national and international legal ranking publications, including the 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in Canada©, the 2010 edition of the Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada, and the 2010 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory.

At BLG, we are committed to staying focused on your success and achieving the best possible results.

Our Services

Our experience encompasses every aspect of the oil and gas sector as outlined below.

Exploration, Production & Refining

We act for numerous domestic and international exploration, production and refining companies with operations throughout Canada, the U.S. and overseas. We have provided extensive legal advice and documentation preparation for all phases of our clients' oil and gas operations including acquisition, joint venture, joint operating, development, construction, farm-out, participation, procurement, production sharing, royalty, transportation, gas sales and hedging contracts. We have also provided legal advice and documentation with regard to natural gas electricity cogeneration projects, pipeline facilities and primary mining installations.

Pipeline and Transmission

We have a long history of acting for some of Canada 's largest pipeline companies. BLG has represented, and continue to represent, these companies before provincial and national regulators, in many large capital financings and for significant mergers and acquisitions.

Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestitures

Our Mergers and Acquisitions Group consists of over 130 lawyers, spanning various disciplines such as commercial, securities, competition and tax law. Our work in this area includes the acquisition and disposition of significant assets and divisions, public transactional work such as take-over bids, amalgamations and mergers, plans of arrangement, reorganizations (including income trust reorganizations) and spin-offs.

Financing

Our corporate finance and securities practitioners have extensive experience in providing services to oil and gas related lenders and borrowers. Our Firm's strength in the area of financial services allows us to provide our energy-related clients with service and experience in all areas of financial services law, including banking, lending, syndication, leasing, structured finance, public and private equity and debt offerings, project finance, securitizations, bankruptcy, insolvency, restructuring and related disciplines. We are active in representing issuers such as governments, major multi-national corporations, partnerships, joint ventures, funds, and income and business trusts, as well as underwriters, selling security holders and investors in a wide variety of domestic and cross-border financings.

We have acted for numerous exploration and production companies on both debt and equity financings including commercial bank debt, equity, mezzanine, domestic and internationally-funded loans and loan syndications.

Taxation

Our tax professionals act for a wide variety of industry participants, from private and junior public companies to multi-national oil and gas exploration, production, refining and pipeline companies. We have extensive experience in all areas of resource industry tax planning, including such areas as acquisitions and divestitures, reorganizations and restructurings, royalty trusts, cross-border transactions as well as public debt and equity financings.

Cross-Border and International Transactions

Our international oil and gas lawyers have a broad range of experience assisting service, production, exploration and petrochemical companies, as well as other public and private industry participants, in oil and gas related transactions, negotiations and arbitrations around the globe. Some of our recent work has related to the purchase and sale of oil and gas explorers and producers involving foreign entities, as well as the purchase, sale and financing of corporate and project assets, facilities, equipment, concession rights and drilling rigs for use in areas such as Latin America and the Middle East.

Regulatory Matters

Our regulatory professionals advise and represent a full range of industry participants in regulatory applications and proceedings before all provincial and federal government agencies and administrative tribunals as well as before commercial Boards of Arbitration. Our professionals also have extensive experience acting for clients in facilities applications for gas, sour gas, oil and NGL pipelines, gas processing plants, oil sands plants, co-generation facilities and petrochemical plants as well as in gas removal and gas export licensing applications.

Litigation

Our oil and gas litigation professionals have extensive experience dealing with all manner of disputes relating to the oil and gas industry, including matters relating to oil and gas operations, acquisitions and contracts, split-title issues and intellectual property.

Environmental Matters

Our environmental law professionals have represented numerous oil and gas companies, petrochemical manufacturers, federally and provincially regulated pipeline companies and individuals in a broad range of resource development and energy-related applications and proceedings. We have acted for developers of petrochemical plants, upstream oil and gas facilities (including exploratory and production wells, gathering pipelines, oil batteries and gas plants), oil sands development facilities and pipeline facilities (including pump and compressor stations, storage facilities, transmission pipelines and distribution systems). We have also acted for affected parties with respect to such projects, including corporations, First Nations and individuals.

Government Relations

Our Government Relations Group works for many large Canadian and international corporations dealing with all levels of government in Canada. We have assisted clients dealing in a variety of energy-sector related investments and general business investments both within and outside of Canada. We also act for foreign governments and foreign oil & gas companies. The Government Relations Group has excellent contacts at the senior political and bureaucratic levels of government in each jurisdiction. We also advise corporate clients on detailed lobby registration requirements which impact their communications with government officials.

Labour & Employment

Our employment law professionals provide a full range of related services to BLG's clients in the oil and gas industry, both in an advisory and representative context. Representative work includes extensive experience in all matters of litigation and hearings, including employment disputes, disability issues, wrongful dismissal claims and complaints before employment standards tribunals, workers compensation boards, and human rights tribunals.

Aboriginal Law

Our Aboriginal Law Group has acted for First Nations, bands, corporations and institutions as well as the provincial and federal governments in a wide range of areas dealing with First Nations and aboriginal law issues.

Representative Transactions ─ Corporate

BLG acts as government relations advisor to a pipeline company on a proposed $20 billion pipeline project.
Acted for a drilling company with respect to its $6.7 billion reorganization.
Acted for a large services company in relation to the spinout of a division in a $2.3 billion acquisition by an income fund.
Acted for a drilling company in the $2.3 billion sale of its energy services and international drilling divisions.
Acted for a large Canadian pension fund, which invested in an early oil sands development in 2003, and recently, with its partners, sold their collective interest for $2.1 billion.
Acted for a foreign entity in its $1.8 billion acquisition of an interest in a domestic company.
Acted for a domestic company in its $1.3 billion acquisition by a foreign entity.
Acted for a drilling company on its $1.3 billion acquisition by a services company.
Acted as advisor to the developer of a proposed $1.2 billion liquefied natural gas facility and related pipeline and terminal facilities.
Acted in relation to a $1.1 billion joint venture for the construction and operation of an ethylene petrochemical plant.
Acted for a public energy income trust in relation to its conversion into a corporation and concurrent takeover of two companies.
Acted for a major producer in its US$588 million acquisition of all the issued and outstanding shares of another producer and certain assets. As well, we represented the same entity in its US$320 million spin out of certain properties.
Acted for an oil sands fund in its issuance of $400 million of trust units.
Acted for a drilling company in its US$320 million acquisition of another entity's worldwide land drilling assets located in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Egypt and Venezuela. We also assisted our client in setting up new businesses in each of these countries.
Acted on behalf of the underwriters with respect to a $275 million offering by an oil sands developer.
Acted on behalf of one of the participants in a joint project for the construction and operation of a $250 million derivatives production plant.