Chris Bennett

Based in the Firm’s Houston office, Partner Chris Bennett has extensive experience counseling public and private companies, private equity sponsors and other investors on a wide array of corporate transactions across the energy industry, with a focus on upstream and midstream oil and gas sectors. He advises clients on high-profile mergers and acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures and other strategic combinations relating to energy  assets and businesses, and the development and negotiation of related partnership, operating, processing and services agreements, in addition to advising on broader corporate governance issues.

Selected experience prior to Simpson Thacher includes advising:

• Angelo Gordon in out-of-court comprehensive restructuring of Abraxas Petroleum, which also included the sale of assets to Lime Rock Resources
• Bighorn (f/k/a Sable Permian Resources) in its announced sale of all of its assets to Earthstone Energy
• EQT Corporation in its acquisition of the upstream and midstream subsidiaries of Alta Resources Development, LLC for approximately $2.93 billion in cash and stock
• ArcLight Capital Partners in its acquisition from Murphy Oil Corporation and joint venture with Ridgewood Energy Corporation to co-own the King’s Quay floating production system in the Gulf of Mexico
• Solaris Water Midstream in connection with its acquisition of water gathering, disposal and recycling assets in west Texas and southeastern New Mexico from ConocoPhillips (as successor to Concho Resources) and simultaneous joint venture with ConocoPhillips focused on optimizing water logistics in the Northern Delaware basin
• EPIC Midstream in various corporate transactions and debt and equity financings in connection with its development of crude oil and NGL pipelines from the Delaware basin to Corpus Christi, Texas
• The subsidiary of a multinational integrated oil and gas company in its $545 million acquisition of deepwater Gulf of Mexico assets from Cobalt International Energy pursuant to bankruptcy court 363 proceedings
• Multiple private equity portfolio companies and private equity sponsors in connection with many upstream asset acquisitions and divestitures

Chris was recognized as a “Texas Rising Star” by Super Lawyers (2016-2021) and was previously a partner at another international law firm before joining Simpson Thacher. He received his J.D., magna cum laude, from Tulane University Law School and his B.A., cum laude, from Louisiana State University.