Upstream Oil & Gas Company Achieves Reduction In Disputed Charges Under Transition Services Agreement

Disputes & Litigations Litigation Support & Investigations

Upstream Oil & Gas Company Achieves Reduction In Disputed Charges Under Transition Services Agreement

The Challenge

Undisclosed Oil & Gas Co. (“the Company”) is a privately owned, independent oil and gas company that operates offshore assets in the Gulf of Mexico (“GOM”) from Florida to Texas. The Company currently operates more than 600 producing wells from approximately 500 structures and 66 fields. The Company is based in Dallas, Texas, and has operations staff in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Houston. In 2016, the Company completed a transaction with Chevron to purchase 19 oil and gas fields primarily located on the GOM Outer Continental Shelf and in Louisiana state waters.

The Solution

Opportune was engaged as an independent expert on behalf of the Company to provide testimony related to disputed charges that were incurred under a Transition Services Agreement (“TSA”) arising from the purchase of offshore properties from Chevron.

Business Impact

Prepared a detailed expert report analyzing the over $37 million in operating expenses billed under the TSA.
Analyzed over 12,000 documents provided via legal production and mapped invoice-level support to individual charges billed under the TSA.
Identified greater than $300,000 in charges incorrectly billed to the Company under the TSA.
Prepared a rebuttal report arguing insufficient documentation had been provided relating to greater than $10 million in charges billed under the TSA.

Presented a detailed presentation to an arbitration tribunal detailing the findings and outlining the lack of support provided.
Won an opportunity to formally audit a significant portion of charges billed under the TSA on-site at Chevron’s corporate offices.