Trent Bridges is a partner in the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions Group. Trent’s practice includes a wide range of energy-related transactions, infrastructure development projects and investments. He has significant experience advising on acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, greenfield projects and commercial agreements across the oil & gas value chain, notably within the midstream space. He also advises clients on energy transition projects, particularly those involving renewable fuels and investments in new technologies in support of such projects.
Prior to joining Paul, Weiss, Trent served as an officer and in managing legal roles for Magellan Midstream Partners, where he worked directly with its board of directors and executive management team on numerous material midstream M&A transactions, joint ventures and projects.
Trent’s representations have included:
MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURES
- A portfolio company of a private equity fund in its sale of natural gas processing and pipeline assets to a publicly traded midstream company
- Enterprise Products Partners in its affiliate’s acquisition of natural gas salt dome storage caverns in Wharton County, Texas from an affiliate of Republic Financial
- Energy Transfer in its $1.45 billion acquisition of Lotus Midstream Operations from an affiliate of EnCap Flatrock Midstream
- A publicly traded midstream company in an investment bank-led auction process to submit a bid to acquire a $1 billion+ crude oil gathering, pipeline transportation and terminals business
- Magellan Midstream Partners in its:
- $435 million sale of 26 refined products inland terminals located primarily in the Southeastern United States to Buckeye Partners
- $270 million sale of a near 25% membership interest in MVP Terminalling refined products marine terminal joint venture and related restructuring of such joint venture to a global private equity company
- $250 million sale of refined products marine terminals located in New Haven, CT, Wilmington, DE and Marrero, LA to Buckeye Partners
- $1.4 billion joint sale with Plains All-American of a combined 50% membership interest in the BridgeTex Pipeline crude oil joint venture to Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System
- $75 million acquisition of a strategic “last mile” crude oil pipeline system in the Houston, TX Gulf Coast area from BridgeTex Pipeline
- joint sale with Plains All-American of a 20% membership interest in the Saddlehorn Pipeline crude oil joint venture to Anadarko Petroleum and related restructuring of such joint venture
- sale of an approximately 45% undivided joint interest in the Saddlehorn crude oil pipeline system to an affiliate of NGL Energy Partners
- $155 million joint sale with Plains All-American of a combined 20% membership interest in the Saddlehorn Pipeline crude oil joint venture to an entity controlled by Noble Midstream Partners
- acquisition of the West Columbia crude oil pipeline system in the Houston, TX Gulf Coast area from Shell Midstream
- Numerous investment bank-led auction processes to buy and sell interests in various midstream infrastructure assets, including crude oil and natural gas gathering and transportation systems, long-haul pipelines and inland and marine terminals facilities, with individual deal values in excess of $1 billion
- An Oklahoma-based oil and gas production and exploitation company in the divestiture of its electric submersible pump, chemical and supply divisions in a series of transactions with multiple counterparties
- The Oklahoma Publishing Company in its acquisition of a controlling equity interest in Pavestone Company
- A physician-owned surgical hospital in its reorganization and sale to a national operator of ambulatory surgical centers and surgical hospitals
- A privately held Oklahoma auto parts distributor in its acquisition of a powertrain parts and accessories distribution business in North Carolina and Virginia
- The shareholders of a California-based manufacturer of casino games in the sale of all the company’s stock to a publicly traded Canadian company
- A publicly-traded company in its acquisition of a multi-state sleep disorder business
- The shareholders of an Oklahoma-based industrial supply distribution company in the sale of the corporation to a private equity fund
- A food industry company in the acquisition of all assets associated with two large food processing plants
JOINT VENTURES AND UNDIVIDED JOINT INTEREST TRANSACTIONS
- Energy Transfer in the formation of a strategic joint venture with Enbridge to construct, own and operate the Southern Illinois Connector project, a new 24-inch crude oil pipeline that will connect the Platte Pipeline near Wood River, Illinois to the Energy Transfer Crude Oil Pipeline (ETCOP) near Patoka, Illinois to provide shippers with full-path crude oil pipeline transportation service from Western Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast
- A publicly-traded midstream company in the restructuring of undivided joint interest ownership agreements with another publicly traded midstream company for a crude oil pipeline and related terminal assets in the Permian Basin
- Energy Transfer and Sunoco on the formation of a joint venture combining their respective crude oil and produced water gathering assets in the Permian Basin
- A project developer on the formation of a joint venture with a global trading firm to pursue the development of peaking power plants, including through the Texas Energy Fund In-ERCOT Generation Loan program
- A publicly-traded midstream company in negotiations for the development, ownership and operation of a long-haul petroleum pipeline through an undivided joint interest ownership structure
- Magellan Midstream Partners in:
- its Seabrook Logistics joint venture with LBC Terminals to construct, own and operate an approximately $500 million crude oil marine export terminal and related pipeline assets in Houston, TX Gulf Coast area
- its BridgeTex Pipeline joint venture with Occidental Petroleum to construct, own and operate a 440-mile crude oil pipeline from the Permian Basin in Texas to the Houston, TX Gulf Coast area
- the restructuring of its BridgeTex Pipeline crude oil joint venture to effect the sale of Occidental Petroleum’s 50% membership interest to Plains All-American for $1.1 billion
- its Saddlehorn Pipeline joint venture with Plains All-American to construct, own and operate a 660-mile crude oil pipeline from the DJ Basin in Colorado to Cushing, OK
- the conversion of the Saddlehorn crude oil pipeline system to an undivided joint interest ownership structure with an affiliate of NGL Energy Partners
- its HoustonLink Pipeline joint venture with TransCanada to construct, own and operate an approximately $50 million crude oil pipeline in Houston, TX Gulf Coast area
- A public university in a public-private partnership (PPP) to implement a long-term operations and management arrangement for its utilities assets
MIDSTREAM COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS
- Producers Midstream II in its affiliates’ entry into long-term acreage dedications and volume commitments with leading Permian operators and related long-term residue gas takeaway rights as part of the company’s Phase Two expansion of its Delaware Basin system that significantly expands its gathering, treating, and processing infrastructure in Lea County, New Mexico
- Devon Energy Corporation in its entry into long-term agreements with an affiliate of LandBridge Company for produced water surface use and pore space reservation rights and related transactions to support Devon’s operations in the core of the New Mexico Delaware Basin
- A publicly-traded exploration and production company in negotiations for a long-term natural gas pipeline transportation services agreement to supply its commitment to a planned liquified natural gas terminal
- Buckeye Partners in the commercial contracting of U.S. Gulf Coast crude oil and condensate storage and processing assets with a global commodity trading and logistics firm
- Magellan Midstream Partners in:
- the expansion of the Saddlehorn crude oil pipeline system and long-term re-contracting with Saddlehorn anchor shippers
- its construction of an approximately $300 million condensate splitter and related terminal assets in Corpus Christi, TX, supported by a long-term Tolling Agreement with Trafigura AG as sole off-take counterparty
- its agreement with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and Enterprise Products Partners to establish a new Midland WTI American Gulf Coast joint crude oil physical futures contract (HOU) deliverable at Magellan’s East Houston (MEH) terminal or Enterprise’s Crude Houston (ECHO) terminal
- its agreement with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) to establish a crude oil storage futures program and a crude oil physical futures contract (HOU) deliverable at Magellan’s East Houston (MEH) terminal
ENERGY TRANSITION PROJECTS AND JOINT VENTURES
- Enbridge in:
- an infrastructure development agreement with Divert to develop wasted-food-to-renewable natural gas (RNG) projects across the U.S. for up to more than $1 billion of capital investments underpinned by long-term, take-or-pay contracts
- an approximately $100 million project with Divert to build a wasted-food-to-RNG facility in Longview, Washington, which is the first project between the parties under their $1 billion infrastructure development agreement
- United Airlines Ventures in its joint venture with Tallgrass Energy and Green Plains to develop and commercialize a novel sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) technology that uses ethanol as feedstock
- Neste Corporation in its $1 billion investment in a renewable diesel joint venture with Marathon Petroleum
CAPITAL MARKETS TRANSACTIONS
- An Oklahoma-based oil and gas production and exploitation company in over $2 billion of public debt offerings and related exchange offers, tender offers and redemptions
- An Oklahoma-based oil and gas production and exploitation company in a $345 million private placement of its common stock to a private equity fund
- An Oklahoma-based publicly traded oil and gas exploration and production company in debt and equity financing matters
