Tammi S. Niven

Tammi Niven is an experienced debt finance lawyer representing corporate borrowers, investors and lenders in complex commercial credit transactions across a wide array of industries and markets with a focus on the energy industry.

Tammi takes a holistic, practical and results-oriented approach to structuring, negotiating and closing all types of financing arrangements across the capital structure on behalf of lender and borrower clients. These include senior secured and unsecured syndicated, club and bilateral credit facilities; asset-backed and oil and gas reserve-based financings; leveraged and acquisition financings; project financings; cash flow and working capital loans; convertible and mezzanine debt and subordinated loans; second-lien and split-lien credit facilities; intercreditor arrangements; bridge and term loans; letter of credit facilities, multijurisdictional and offshore credit facilities; equipment leases; real estate loans; structured finance transactions; international trade financings; subscription secured credit facilities; loan workouts and debt restructurings; and debtor-in-possession and exit financings.

Tammi’s extensive energy finance experience spans the energy industry, including the midstream, oilfield services, oil and gas exploration and production, renewables, energy transition and downstream sectors.

Upstream

• Represented a private independent energy company in connection with a $1 billion senior revolving credit facility and $325 million second-lien term credit facility, secured by oil and gas properties located in Texas and Louisiana
• Guided a large privately owned hedge fund sponsor and asset manager in connection with a $100 million second-lien term loan to an oil and gas E&P company focused in the Barnett and Marcellus shales and the related intercreditor arrangement
• Supported a Houston-based oil and gas company in connection with its $300 million first-lien, $180 million second-lien and $50 million mezzanine credit facilities
• Counseled a Midland, Texas-based oil and gas E&P company focused primarily in the Permian Basin in connection with its $20 million senior secured reserve-based credit facility, governed by a conforming and non-conforming borrowing base
• Represented an oil and gas E&P company primarily focused on resource plays in select North American basins in connection with a $200 million reserve-based revolving credit facility secured by oil and gas properties
• Advised the debtor-in-possession agent and pre-petition agent in the Chapter 11 case of an independent oil and gas E&P company

Midstream

• Represented the lead arranger and administrative agent in connection with a $350 million senior secured credit facility to an independent, growth-oriented provider of water-related infrastructure to the oil and gas industry in the Permian Basin
• Counseled a full-service midstream company in connection with its $150 million revolving credit facility, secured by crude oil gathering, storage and transportation assets in the Eagle Ford Shale
• Advised the agent bank in connection with a $150 million secured revolving and term-loan credit facility to a full-cycle water midstream company providing water gathering, transportation, recycling, storage, treatment and disposal solutions in the Midland and Delaware Basins
• Represented an independent midstream company providing natural gas gathering and processing, produced water gathering, crude oil gathering and stabilization, crude oil transloading, saltwater disposal and storage services in the Midland Basin in connection with its $225 million syndicated credit facility
• Represented the agent bank in connection with a $230 million syndicated revolving credit facility to an independent midstream oil and gas company providing a full suite of integrated midstream solutions in the Delaware Basin
• Led a private equity firm and its portfolio company in connection with the project financing of an approximately 22-mile natural gas pipeline in order to provide natural gas service to the Oregon Clean Energy Center, an approximately 800-megawatt combined cycle power plant in Ohio
• Represented the agent bank in connection with syndicated revolving and term-loan credit facilities to the owner/operator of a natural gas gathering and compression system focused on providing gas gathering and compressed gas re-injection services in the Eagle Ford Shale
• Guided a Dallas-based midstream provider with operations in the Midland Basin and Delaware Basin in connection with its $585 million senior secured revolving credit facility
• Represented the lead arranger and administrative agent in connection with a $175 million revolving credit facility to an independent energy company offering producers a full platform of midstream solutions, including natural gas gathering, processing, compression treating and condensate stabilization
• Represented the lead arranger and administrative agent in connection with a $50 million syndicated revolving credit facility to a high-growth, bulk liquids terminal and logistics operator with operations in the Port of Brownsville
• Advised a natural gas liquefaction and export company in connection with its secured bridge loan for the purpose of developing a modular mid-scale natural gas liquefaction facility
• Counseled the agent bank in connection with a syndicated secured credit facility for a midstream logistics company focused on developing rail terminal and marine loading facilities and providing flexible crude oil, sand and LNG logistics services, including storage and bunkering

Downstream

• Represented the agent bank in connection with a $400 million secured revolving credit facility for a company engaged in nationwide marketing and distribution of propane, fuel oil and refined fuels and marketing of natural gas and electricity in deregulated markets
• Represented the agent bank in connection with a $225 million secured 364-day syndicated term loan facility to a marketing, distribution and retailing focused downstream to fund its acquisition of the retail propane operations of a publicly traded master limited partnership
• Advised the lead arrangers and administrative agent in connection with an $11.8 billion syndicated revolving credit facility, bridge loan and term loan for an independent refiner in connection with its spin-off from an integrated international energy company

Energy - Services

• Represented a publicly traded worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and sale of equipment and components used in oil and gas drilling and production and the provision of oilfield services in connection with its unsecured $1.5 billion multicurrency credit facility
• Represented a publicly traded international offshore energy services company that provides specialty services to the offshore energy industry, with a focus on well intervention and robotics operations, in connection with its ABL cross-border syndicated revolving credit facility
• Represented a Houston-based manufacturer of critical infrastructure products and solutions for the transportation, energy transmission/distribution, telecommunications and other end markets in its $130 million senior secured revolving and term loan credit facility
• Represented an oil and gas infrastructure resource company providing contract services in the treating and removal of impurities found in natural gas, oil and water, in connection with the negotiation and documentation of senior secured, revolving and term-loan credit facilities
• Guided a publicly traded global industrial services company in connection with its $300 million senior secured revolving and term loan credit facilities
• Advised a publicly traded international offshore energy services company in connection with its $210 million revolving and term loan credit facilities
• Counseled a large privately owned hedge fund sponsor and asset manager in connection with a $125 million secured term loan to an energy services company in connection with its acquisition of a wireline company and the related intercreditor arrangement
• Represented an energy private equity firm in connection with the acquisition financing of a provider of energy metering and measuring equipment and services, secured by accounts receivable, inventory, real property and other assets
• Advised a Houston-based private equity fund focused on energy services and its portfolio companies in connection with their respective subscription-based credit facilities and senior secured revolving and term loan credit facilities
• Counseled a private equity firm and its portfolio companies, a value-added distributor of fuel and lubricants and a leading provider of specialty well servicing rigs, in connection with its senior secured revolving and term loan credit facilities
• Led a Houston-based integrated onshore drilling services provider in connection with its $125 million revolving loan facility and hedging facilities secured by the company’s onshore drilling rigs and other assets

Power & Renewables

• Represented the lender in connection with secured credit facilities to a utility-scale solar developer focused on building projects in ERCOT and a utility-scale onshore wind developer focused on building responsibly developed wind and other carbon-free power generation projects
• Represented a Houston-based independent power producer in connection with its $95 million senior secured and mezzanine project financing of two electric power generation plants
• Represented the lender in connection with a secured credit facility to an affiliated group of companies focused on developing utility-scale solar generating facilities, energy storage facilities and hybrid solar/storage facilities in the Mountain West region of the U.S.
• Counseled a project development company with gas assets located throughout the Caribbean Basin and LNG facilities, including a natural gas liquefaction plant and marine terminal and land-based bunkering station, in Florida in connection with its senior secured revolving credit facility
• Supported an independent power development company in connection with the project financing of its 51-megawatt gas-fired power plant
• Represented the agent bank in connection with a secured credit facility to a utility-scale, independent power producer focused on the development, construction and operation of wind, solar and battery energy storage projects in the U.S.
• Advised the administrative agent in a project financing for a 38.3-megawatt solar facility in Georgia
• Counseled a large independent energy retailer that markets and sells electricity and natural gas in the U.S. in connection with intercompany debt issued in tandem with the IPO of its indirect parent company on the Toronto Stock Exchange 

Other

• Represented a publicly traded business development company in connection with its debt investments in a variety of lower-middle and middle-market companies in diverse industry sectors throughout the U.S., including technology, consumer discretionary, telecommunications, industrials, materials, telecommunications, transportation and manufacturing
• Guided a publicly traded global real estate services company in connection with its $400 million syndicated revolving credit facility
• Counseled an employee-owned specialty distribution company serving the aerospace, defense, electronic assembly, medical device and other industrial markets in connection with its asset-based $95 million senior secured revolving and term loan credit facility
• Represented a processor, marketer and distributor of rice and pasta products in connection with a $300 million term loan
• Represented a private investment and management company headquartered in Houston focused on transformative real estate projects, breakthrough medical discoveries and disciplined investments, in connection with its $300 million syndicated revolving credit facility
• Represented the administrative agent in connection with the workout and eventual pay-off of a $632.5 million credit facility with a major finance company