Trent Bridges, Partner, Energy & Infrastructure

Trent O. Bridges

Partner

Areas of Focus

Trent Bridges, Partner, Energy & Infrastructure

Trent O. Bridges

Partner

tbridges@akingump.com

Areas of Focus

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Biography
  • Focuses on energy-related transactions, infrastructure development projects and investments, primarily for publicly traded companies in the oil and gas industry.
  • Represents clients in a wide variety of energy transition projects.
  • Extensive first-hand knowledge of the midstream industry from his near decade of experience as a senior legal leader and executive of Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P.

Trent Bridges’s practice focuses on a diverse range of energy-related transactions, infrastructure development projects and investments. He has extensive experience advising on acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, greenfield projects and investments across the oil and gas value chain. He also advises clients on energy transition projects, including those involving renewable fuels and investments in new technologies in support of such projects.

Previously, Trent served as an officer and in managing legal roles for Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P., where he worked directly with its board of directors and executive management team on numerous significant M&A transactions and infrastructure development projects. During his tenure at Magellan, Trent led the structuring, drafting and negotiating of purchase and sale agreements, joint venture arrangements, terminalling and offtake contracts, and pipeline throughput commitments and related tariffs for the development, construction, ownership and operation of new and expanded pipeline systems, inland storage and marine export terminals, condensate splitter facilities and other midstream assets.

Trent began his legal career in Oklahoma City at the largest law firm in the state of Oklahoma, where he primarily represented upstream oil and gas companies in capital markets and financing transactions, compliance with SEC periodic reporting, NYSE, NASDAQ and other exchange rules, and mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.

In college, Trent received an athletic scholarship to play baseball at Kansas State University, where he was a letterman as a relief pitcher.

Representative Work
  • Represented Energy Transfer LP and Sunoco LP on the formation of a joint venture combining their respective crude oil and produced water gathering assets in the Permian Basin.
  • Represented a portfolio company of a private equity fund in its sale of natural gas processing and pipeline assets to a publicly traded midstream company.
  • Represented 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.
  • Represented Enterprise Products Partners L.P. in its affiliate’s acquisition of natural gas salt dome storage caverns in Wharton County, Texas from an affiliate of Republic Financial Corporation.
  • Represented 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.
  • Represented Enbridge Inc. in an infrastructure development agreement with Divert Inc. 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.
  • Represented Enbridge Inc. in an approximately $100 million project with Divert, Inc. 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.
  • Represented Energy Transfer LP in its acquisition of Lotus Midstream Operations, LLC for approximately $1.45 billion from an affiliate of EnCap Flatrock Midstream.
  • Represented 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.
  • Represented Buckeye Partners, L.P. 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.
  • Represented 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.
  • Represented Neste Corporation in its $1 billion investment in a renewable diesel joint venture with Marathon Petroleum.
  • Represented 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.

Representative matters at Magellan included:

  • Sale to Buckeye Partners, L.P. of 26 refined products inland terminals located primarily in the Southeastern United States for $435 million.
  • Sale to a global private equity company of a near 25% membership interest in MVP Terminalling refined products marine terminal joint venture for $270 million and related restructuring of such joint venture.
  • Sale to Buckeye Partners, L.P. of refined products marine terminals located in New Haven, CT, Wilmington, DE and Marrero, LA for $250 million.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Restructuring of BridgeTex Pipeline joint venture to effect the sale of Occidental Petroleum’s 50% membership interest to Plains All-American for $1.1 billion; acquisition by Magellan of BridgeTex’s 40-mile pipeline system in the Houston, TX Gulf Coast area for $75 million.
  • Joint sale with Plains All American to Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System of a combined 50% membership interest in BridgeTex Pipeline joint venture for $1.4 billion.
  • 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.
  • Sale to Anadarko Petroleum of a 20% membership interest in Saddlehorn Pipeline joint venture and related restructuring of such joint venture.
  • Conversion of Saddlehorn pipeline system to an undivided joint interest ownership structure with an affiliate of NGL Energy Partners acquiring an approximately 45% interest in the system.
  • Expansion of Saddlehorn pipeline system, long-term re-contracting with Saddlehorn anchor shippers and joint sale with Plains All-American to an entity controlled by Noble Midstream Partners of a combined 20% membership interest in Saddlehorn Pipeline joint venture for $155 million.
  • Construction of approximately $300 million condensate splitter and related terminal assets in Corpus Christi, TX, supported by long-term Tolling Agreement with Trafigura AG as sole off-take counterparty.
  • HoustonLink Pipeline joint venture with TransCanada to construct, own and operate an approximately $50 million crude oil pipeline in Houston, TX Gulf Coast area.
  • Acquisition from a pipeline transportation company of West Columbia pipeline in Houston, TX Gulf Coast area.
  • Agreement with Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) and Enterprise Products Partners L.P. 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.
  • Agreement with Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (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.
  • Numerous investment bank-led auction processes to buy and sell interests in various midstream infrastructure assets, including crude oil gathering and transportation systems, long-haul pipelines and inland and marine terminals facilities, with individual deal values in excess of $1 billion.

Prior to his work at Magellan, his representative matters in private practice included:

  • Represented 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
  • Represented 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.
  • Represented 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.
  • Represented an Oklahoma-based publicly traded oil and gas exploration and production company in debt and equity financing matters.
  • Represented The Oklahoma Publishing Company in its acquisition of a controlling equity interest in Pavestone Company, a national manufacturer of concrete landscaping products.
  • Represented a physician-owned surgical hospital in its reorganization and sale to a national operator of ambulatory surgical centers and surgical hospitals.
  • Represented a privately held Oklahoma auto parts distributor in its acquisition of a powertrain parts and accessories distribution business in North Carolina and Virginia.
  • Represented a public university in a public-private partnership (PPP) to implement a long-term operations and management arrangement for its utilities assets.
  • Represented 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.
  • Represented a publicly traded company in its acquisition of a multi-state sleep disorder business.
  • Represented the shareholders of an Oklahoma-based industrial supply distribution company in the sale of the corporation to a private equity fund.
  • Represented a food industry company in the acquisition of all assets associated with two large food processing plants.

List may include matters worked on prior to joining Akin.

Education
  • J.D., The University of Tulsa College of Law, with highest honors, 2008

  • B.A., University of Oklahoma, 1999

Bar Admissions
  • Oklahoma

  • Texas

Speeches and Publications
  • Pipeline Energy Deals Increase as Midstream Companies Try to Keep Pace,” Mergers & Acquisitions, June 26, 2024.
  • Speaker, “Renewable Fuels Projects: Marriages of New Entrants and Traditional Players in the Oil & Gas Value Chain,” Energy Infrastructure Council CEO & Investor Conference, West Palm Beach, FL, May 24, 2023.
  • Speaker, “Optimizing Oil Pipeline Capacity – Contractual and Regulatory Tools and Considerations,” Webinar, January 12, 2022.
  • “Q&A: Significant Midstream Consolidation on the Way,” Hart Energy, October 19, 2021.

Insights and Achievements

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