About Us
Experience
Skip Maryan is a lawyer and consultant with a practice in International Energy.
He started his energy career with a law firm in South Texas in 1975. In 1979, he moved to Mobil Oil Corporation where he held a number of affiliate General Counsel positions over a 25 year career including: General Counsel, Rocky Mountain Division, Denver; General Counsel, Mobil Oil Indonesia, Jakarta; General Counsel, New Business Development, Dallas; Managing Counsel, Mobil’s Major Transaction Group, Fairfax, Virginia; Chief Attorney for ExxonMobil Development Company, Houston.
He continued his practice with the International Energy Section of the law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP until 2010 when he established his own legal and consulting practice.
His experience includes negotiating, lawyering and documenting upstream oil & gas projects in numerous countries on every continent. He has assisted governments in negotiating natural resource treaties. He has taught courses in energy law and contract subjects at Georgetown University Law School, in CLE presentations and for a number of NOC and IOC clients. He has advised corporations on legal department organizations and best practices and served as an Executive Partner in the MBA Program at the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at the College of William & Mary. He currently teaches energy law courses worldwide for the consulting firm IHRDC out of Boston.
Mr. Maryan holds a law degree from St. Mary’s University and a Master of Laws in taxation from Southern Methodist University. He is currently a member of the Texas Bar Association. He is a frequent speaker at CLE and energy educational programs throughout the world.
He has served in several capacities as an officer and director of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators. He is a retired Commander in the U. S. Navy Reserve where he served as both an aviator and lawyer from 1965-1987. He has three grown children and lives with his wife in Arnold, Maryland.
Consulting
Recent and Current Consulting and Representations:
1. Training of in house legal staff of an African national oil company (NOC).
2. Outside Counsel and Negotiator for US$ 2.4 B corporate divestiture for a publicly traded Asian energy company.
3. Training of in house legal staff for both large and mid size Asian, integrated energy companies.
4. Expert witness appearances in international arbitrations related to the upstream energy sector.
5. Training for senior management level seminars in petroleum courses sponsored by IHRDC. (International Energy Law, Boundary Disputes, Negotiations, Upstream Contracts, EPC Contracts.)
6. Coach and Mentor at the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at the College of William & Mary.
7. Co - Author (with IHRDC) of International Petroleum Law Workshop, a combination of lectures and computer driven exercises for middle managers in the Upstream oil & Gas Business.
Seminar Training
Seminar Topics and Presentations:
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY - EXPLORATION AND PRODUCING:
1. Geology and Engineering (Basic Concepts about how Hydrocarbons are found and how to Drill a well), Issues in the International Oil & Gas Business, Relevant General Principles of Law.
2. Due Diligence when Going Outside the Home Country, Legal Issues Presented, Five Types of Host Government Energy Contracts, Checklists.
3. Introduction to Forms, History, Catalogue of Forms. Model Form Confidentiality Agreement & Model Form Joint Study and Bidding Agreement.
4. Transfers of Host Government Contract Rights, Asset Sales & Sales of Companies - Model Form Farmout Agreement, Checklists.
5. Joint Operations and the Model Joint Operating Agreement – Four Sessions.
6. Model International Unitization and Unit Operating Agreement; and Model Service Agreements; International Taxation Considerations.
OIL LIFTING, ENERGY SALES, LNG SALES:
1. Oil storage & lifting; Model Lifting Agreement.
2. Oil and Gas Sales Agreements.
3. LNG Projects Overview, Transportation & Sales Contracts.
OTHER TOPICS:
1. Upstream Energy Industry Overview and Current Events.
2. Special Problems, Risks and Considerations when contracting with a government.
3. Doing Business Overseas: Due Diligence before you go; What to do when you get there; Negotiating and problems with Culture.
4. Business Structure Selections and International Tax Considerations.
5. Training in legal and business ethics.