Joseph Kmetz is an associate in the Houston office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where he currently practices with the firm’s Oil and Gas, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Private Equity practice groups, with a particular focus on the upstream and midstream sectors of the oil and gas industry.
Joseph draws on his legal and commercial background in the energy industry to help clients navigate:
- Acquisitions and divestitures of assets and companies
- Joint ventures and other strategic relationships
- Commercial contracts
- Corporate governance matters, including with respect to environmental and regulatory considerations
- Energy-related restructurings
Joseph maintains an active pro bono practice and is a member of the Advisory Council for the Honors College at Texas Tech University.
Before practicing law, Joseph worked as a landman for a large oil and gas producer. In that role, he served on the company’s long-term planning team for Colorado, calculated land ownership for US Securities and Exchange Commission reporting, cured oil and gas title defects, and helped modernize the company’s form joint operating agreement for Rocky Mountain assets.
Joseph's experience includes advising:*
Oil and Gas
- Occidental Petroleum in its pending $12 billion acquisition of CrownRock L.P.
- Liberty Resources in the sale of its midstream infrastructure and upstream assets in the Williston Basin
- Arclight Capital Partners in its acquisition of a minority interest in the Gulf Coast Express Pipeline
- Arclight Capital Partners on its investment and partial ownership arrangement in the Salamanca Production Facility in the Offshore Gulf of Mexico
- Crescent Midstream on various corporate governance matters and the negotiation and execution of confidentiality agreements, transportation service agreements, connection agreements, and similar commercial contracts
- Vitol on forming VTX Energy Partners
- Magellan Midstream Partners on its US$18.8 billion merger with ONEOK (environmental emphasis)
- Woodside on:
- A joint venture with Shell for deepwater Gulf of Mexico exploration and development projects
- A working interest selldown to Occidental Petroleum for certain deepwater Gulf of Mexico oil and gas leases
- Chisholm Energy on its multi-well farmout and joint development arrangement with an undisclosed E&P company involving Permian Basin assets
- Navitas Petroleum on project development and financing of the offshore Shenandoah Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico
Energy Transition and Renewables
- ConocoPhilips on acquiring a 30% ownership stake and offtake arrangements with Sempra Infrastructure Partners at Port Arthur LNG Facility
- Chevron USA on its joint venture with Bunge North America to create renewable fuel feedstocks in the US
- Amp Americas on acquiring assets from Vitol that convert dairy waste into renewable natural gas
- Woodside on a planned liquefied hydrogen facility (H2OK), a net zero hydrogen project located in Oklahoma
Energy Restructurings
- MLCJR on the sale of its oil and gas assets through a Chapter 11 Section, Section 363 sale process
- Nine Point energy in the sale of its oil and gas assets through a Chapter 11, Section 363 sale process
- Pacific Drilling in its pre-arranged chapter 11 restructuring to address over $1.1 billion of funded debt obligations and other legacy liabilities
- Superior Energy Services in its chapter 11 restructuring to address 1.3 billion of funded debt obligations and other legacy liabilities
* Includes matters handled prior to joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Capabilities
Credentials
Education:
- University of Denver - 2019 Juris Doctor
- Texas Tech University - 2015 B.A. Business Administration
Admissions:
- Texas Bar