Our greatest asset has been and will continue to be our people.  We are looking for an experienced and motivated individual to fill the position of Senior Counsel within our Legal Department based in Houston, TX. 

The Senior Counsel is responsible for providing legal counsel and support for the full life cycle of activities in the Gulf of America, ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, and supporting the Company’s strategic business plan.  This position will interact with personnel at all levels of the organization, with a high level of responsibility and autonomy.

Accountabilities: 

• Serve as primary legal point of contact and provide strategic legal support for all domestic offshore exploration, development, production and decommissioning matters.

• Negotiate and draft full breadth of upstream agreements, including Joint Operating Agreements, Production Handling Agreements, Participation Agreements, Lease Exchange Agreements, Assignment Agreements, Joint Bidding Agreements, Confidentiality Agreements, Withdrawal Agreements and Decommissioning Agreements.
• Participate in Gulf of America executive leadership meetings and other regional meetings.
• Advise company personnel and management of legal and contractual risks associated with proposed offshore operations and activities to ensure company compliance with its legal and contractual obligations.

• Advise Gulf of America Land organization on joint interest owner communications, including operation proposals, authorities for expenditure, confidentiality requirements and cost allocation to ensure compliance with applicable joint operating agreements.
• Oversee the legal aspects of complex business transactions, negotiations and operational matters that involve analysis and interpretation of law and regulations as applied to specific facts.

• Draft, negotiate, interpret and advise clients on a variety of drilling, construction, and procurement agreements in support of exploration, production, and operations activities in the Gulf of America.
• Advise clients on other commercial matters, including contract interpretations and contractor disputes.
• Interfacing with various internal stakeholder groups such as Risk Management, Credit, HSE, Regulatory and Audit to ensure compliance with the company’s policies and procedures in the relevant procurement contracts.
• Manage predecessor decommissioning liability portfolio, including conducting historical corporate entity research, drafting correspondence to regulatory agencies and tendering indemnification notices.

• Provide legal support for regulatory and advocacy matters, including participation on the legal subcommittees for key industry trade associations such as the American Petroleum Institute (API), the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) and the Offshore Operators Committee (OOC).
• Develop strategic legal approach to correspondence received from the Department of Interior, Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and manage appeals to the Interior Board of Land Appeals.
• Work with Health, Safety and Environmental Counsel to ensure compliance with applicable federal statutes and regulations and advise management on compliance status.
• Support company incident response and investigations related to the Gulf of America.
• Work with litigation counsel to coordinate dispute settlement, arbitration and litigation matters.

 Required Qualifications (listed in order of priority): Knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors (KSAB) required of the hired individual to be successful in the position. The hired individual must have each of the KSABs listed in this section to be considered for the position.

• Bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctorate from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association
• Six or more years as a licensed attorney
• Licensed to practice law in the State of Texas
• Extensive experience handling a wide variety of Gulf of America transactional and operational matters
• Proactive approach to providing commercial-minded advice and guidance to a variety of business units
• Ability to prioritize, manage multiple projects, and meet deadlines
• Exceptional interpersonal skills and collaborative work style