Biography
Omar Samji is a partner in Weil’s Private Equity practice and is based in Houston. Omar advises energy companies and investors in mergers & acquisitions, equity and debt financings, joint ventures, project development, and commercial arrangements in hydrogen, carbon capture & sequestration, energy storage, renewable fuels, and other energy transition areas. He also counsels clients on corporate governance matters. He is a frequent speaker on the topic of energy transition and energy infrastructure. Omar is recognized as a leading lawyer for Energy: Oil & Gas (Transactional) in the U.S. by Chambers Global and Chambers USA where clients describe him as a “really good technical lawyer” who is “easy to work with and knowledgeable.” Clients note he “brings a high level of legal sophistication but he is also able to distill legal issues in a manner that is relatable to the business individuals on the deal." He is also recommended for Energy Transactions: Oil & Gas by Legal 500 US and has been recognized as a “Notable Practitioner” in the U.S. by IFLR1000 2024.
Experience*
Energy Transition
- Goldman Sachs in its $440 million strategic investment in BrightNight
- Corporate subsidiary of publicly-held master limited partnership in its acquisition of $50 million investment tax credits generated by battery energy storage system in Texas
- StratosFuel in its financing and development of a hydrogen mobility fueling project
- Humble Midstream (a portfolio company of EnCap Flatrock Midstream) in its joint venture with Enbridge to develop a low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia production and export facility
- The Energy and Minerals Group (EMG) and Vision Blue Resources in their investment in Serra Verde, a Denham Capital portfolio company, that is developing an integrated rare earth element mining and processing operation
- NextEra Energy’s decarbonization venture in its acquisition and financing of multiple data centers
- Integrated Energy Company in its development of a hydrogen and ammonia production and export facility
- Private equity portfolio company in its development of a series of carbon capture facilities for commonly owned ethanol facilities
- Ethanol plant owner in its development of on-site carbon capture facilities and entry into a sequestration agreement
- Microgrid operator in its development of a renewable energy powered microgrid for a municipality
- Midstream company in its development of facilities to store carbon dioxide captured from amine treaters
- Publicly traded midstream operator in negotiations to provide carbon capture and sequestration services to natural gas producers
- ESM Acquisition Company in its $300 million public stock offering to seek to acquire a low carbon energy business
- SJ Industries in its joint venture with Captona to acquire and operate two fuel cell energy projects
Conventional Energy
- Sunoco LP in its approximately $7.3 billion acquisition of NuStar Energy L.P.
- Hut 8 Corp. in its acquisition of Rocky Butte Power Holdco, LLC from Priority Power Management, LLC (a portfolio company of Oaktree Capital Management, L.P and Ara Partners)
- Titan Energy in its sale of substantially all its assets through a series of transactions post-chapter 11 restructuring
- DT Midstream (formerly DTE Pipeline Company) in multiple matters, including,
- its acquisition of an additional 26.25% equity interest in Millennium Pipeline Company and related financing
- its acquisition of private equity backed M5’s Louisiana assets for $2.65 billion
- its acquisition of private equity backed M3’s Appalachia assets for $1.3 billion
- its acquisition of a portfolio of three FERC-regulated natural gas transmission pipelines from ONEOK, Inc. for $1.2 billion
- its acquisition of a 30% equity stake in Stonewall Gas Gathering for $275 million
- Rangeland Energy in multiple matters, including,
- its sale of Rangeland Midstream Canada Ltd. to Kingston Midstream Alberta Limited
- its four equity commitments from EnCap Flatrock Midstream totaling $900 million
- its sale of Rangeland Energy I to Inergy
- its joint venture with Delek Logistics Partners
- its sale of Rangeland Energy II to Andeavor
- its sale of Rangeland Energy III’s STEPS facility
- WhiteHawk Energy in multiple transactions to acquire mineral interests in the Marcellus and Haynesville shale plays, including,
- its $54 million acquisition of additional Marcellus Shale natural gas mineral and royalty assets located in Washington and Greene counties, Pennsylvania
- Frontier Midstream IV (a portfolio company of Energy Spectrum Capital) in multiple matters, including,
- its joint venture with Concho Resources and development of the BCC system
- its sale of its 50% operating interest in Beta Holding Company to ConocoPhillips
- Phoenix Park Energy Marketing in its acquisition of Twin Eagle’s energy trading business
- American Energy Partners in multiple matters, including,
- its $4 billion joint venture with Energy Transfer Partners
- its $500 million joint venture with Regency Energy Partners
- The Energy & Minerals Group (EMG) in its $600 million joint venture with Tailwater Capital
- OGE Energy in its joint venture with CenterPoint and ArcLight to create an $11 billion master limited partnership
- Targa Resources Partners in two joint ventures with Sanchez Energy
Omar received his J.D. from Columbia University, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and his B.Com. from McGill University.
Omar is active in the Houston community. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Performing Arts Houston, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Fay School, a member of the Aga Khan Conciliation and Arbitration Board, and President-Elect of the Texas Association of Mediators. He is also a past member of the Texas Journal of Oil, Gas and Energy Law’s Advisory Board and the Law360 Energy Editorial Board.
*Includes matters handled prior to joining Weil.
Firm News & Announcements, Speaking Engagements, Guides and Resources, Latest Thinking, Awards and Recognition
Firm News & Announcements
- Weil Advises DT Midstream in its $1.2 Billion Acquisition of Strategic Midwest FERC-Regulated Natural Gas Pipelines Deal Brief — November 20, 2024
- Weil Advises Goldman Sachs in Completion of its $440M Strategic Investment in BrightNight Deal Brief — October 07, 2024
Speaking Engagements
-
12th Annual Private Equity New York Forum
Speaker(s):
Omar Samji
May 15, 2024 — Weil Private Equity partner Omar Samji spoke on a panel titled “Investing in US Private Equity — Energy & Infrastructure Focus” as part of Markets Group 12th Annual Private Equity New York Forum.
-
The Conference Board’s Annual Sustainability Conference
Speaker(s):
Omar Samji and
Humzah Qamar Yazdani
July 14, 2023 — Weil Private Equity partner Omar Samji and Associate Humzah Yazdani spoke on a panel titled “Demystifying the Inflation Reduction Act: Incentives and Tax Credits for Decarbonization” as part of The Conference Board’s Annual Sustainability Conference.
Latest Thinking
- Repowering: Out With the Old, In With the Newer and Bigger Publication — By Irina Tsveklova, Omar Samji and Jonathan J. Macke — March 01, 2024
- After Watershed Year, Clean Hydrogen Faces New Challenges Publication — Law360 — By Omar Samji, Irina Tsveklova and Humzah Qamar Yazdani — January 19, 2024
- Proposed Guidance on Investment Tax Credits for Clean Hydrogen Production Facilities Alert — By Jonathan J. Macke, Omar Samji, Irina Tsveklova, Andrew Lawson and Humzah Qamar Yazdani — PDF — January 18, 2024
- Treasury and IRS release proposed guidance on production of clean hydrogen Alert — By Jonathan J. Macke, Omar Samji, Irina Tsveklova, Andrew Lawson and Humzah Qamar Yazdani — PDF — December 29, 2023
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DOE Selects Seven H2Hubs Across the U.S. – What’s Next?
Blog Post — Global Private Equity Watch
— By
Omar Samji,
Irina Tsveklova and
John O'Loughlin
— October 20, 2023
On October 13, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) selected seven regional clean hydrogen hubs (“H2Hubs”) for award negotiations to receive up to $7 billion in federal funding in accordance with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law”. The goal of H2Hubs is to accelerate the development of […]
The post DOE Selects Seven H2Hubs Across the U.S. – What’s Next? appeared first on Global Private Equity Watch.
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Awards and Recognition
- Omar Samji Recommended for Energy Transactions: Oil & Gas Award Brief — Legal 500 US
- Omar Samji Named a “Leading” Lawyer for Energy: Oil & Gas (Transactional) in the U.S. Award Brief — Chambers Global 2024