Counsel Sr

Occidental Petroleum Corporation; United States; On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Occidental Petroleum Corporation is seeking a Senior Counsel for the Gulf of America in Houston, TX. The role requires providing strategic legal support for offshore exploration and production, with a high level of responsibility and autonomy.

Key responsibilities include negotiating agreements, advising management on legal risks, and overseeing complex transactions. Qualified candidates must have a Juris Doctorate, six years of legal experience, and strong negotiation skills.

Qualifications

• Six or more years as a licensed attorney in Texas.
• Extensive experience with Gulf of America transactional and operational matters.
• Ability to manage multiple projects with deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Serve as primary legal point of contact for Gulf of America operations.
• Negotiate and draft key upstream agreements.
• Advise on legal and contractual risks for offshore operations.

Skills

Legal expertise in offshore operations

Negotiation skills

Interpersonal skills

Project management

Commercial-minded advice

Education

Bachelor's degree

Juris Doctorate

Job description

Senior Counsel – Gulf of America (Houston, TX)

Oxy is seeking an experienced legal professional to provide legal counsel and support for the full life cycle of activities in the Gulf of America. This position will interact with personnel at all levels of the organization, carrying a high level of responsibility and autonomy.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary legal point of contact and provide strategic legal support for all domestic offshore exploration, development, production, and decommissioning matters.
• Negotiate and draft 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 compliance with legal and contractual obligations.
• Advise Gulf of America Land organization on joint interest owner communications, such as operation proposals, expenditure authorities, confidentiality requirements, and cost allocation to ensure compliance with joint operating agreements.
• Oversee the legal aspects of complex business transactions, negotiations, and operational matters involving 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 supporting exploration, production, and operations activities in the Gulf of America.
• Advise clients on other commercial matters, including contract interpretations and contractor disputes.
• Interface with internal stakeholder groups such as Risk Management, Credit, HSE, Regulatory, and Audit to ensure compliance with company policies and procedures in 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 key industry trade associations such as the American Petroleum Institute, the National Ocean Industries Association, and the Offshore Operators Committee.
• Develop a 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

• Bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctorate from an American Bar Association accredited law school.
• 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 a collaborative work style.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status, or any other basis as protected by federal, state, or local law.