Serving Energy Industries Nationwide
Headshot Of James Parrot

James Parrot

  • Shareholder

Contact Me:

Practice Areas:

  • Onshore Development & Regulatory Group
  • Transactional & Corporate

Biography

"I love working for my clients. I'm honored to be a part of the work they're doing - producing reliable energy. They're the bedrock of our community and our economy." 

James Parrot brings 18 years of experience to Beatty & Wozniak, primarily focused on oil and gas matters. He strives for business-oriented solutions that maximize operators' abilities to complete projects and close deals quickly, efficiently, and securely.

James found his passion for oil, gas and energy work when he spent time during college studying in India, Thailand and China. He witnessed first-hand what happens when energy is unreliable, expensive, or difficult to obtain. He embarked on law school and a legal career determined to be a part of a secure and reliable domestic energy sector. Today, James is proud to be part of an industry that forms the backbone of the global economy, and provides reliable, affordable energy for billions of people.

James started in the oil and gas industry as a landman. He traveled the Rocky Mountains obtaining leases, examining mineral title, negotiating and drafting joint operating agreements, and performing due diligence for acquisitions, divestitures, and oil and gas financing. He is intensely proud of this background, because it gave him insight into his clients' practical needs, and the challenges faced every day by individuals who work in the industry.

Today, he strives to be the solution to his clients' challenges by focusing on oil and gas regulatory and transactional matters. He has represented industry groups and companies in rulemakings in multiple states. He has obtained approvals for enhanced oil recovery units, saltwater disposal projects, commingling hearings, and flarings. Much of James' work requires close integration of multidisciplinary teams, including land, legal, engineering and geology. James has also obtained approval for hundreds of spacing and pooling applications, and drilling permits.

James also enjoys writing and speaking engagements, and is a dedicated member of multiple industry and professional organizations.

Select Experience:

Regulatory

  • Represented operators and trade groups in state and local rulemakings affecting oil and gas operations.
  • Won numerous contested administrative hearings for oil & gas companies in Colorado, North Dakota and Wyoming.
  • Negotiated and won approval for enhanced recovery units.
  • Obtained hundreds of spacing, pooling, density, and other orders from state commissions in Colorado, Wyoming and North Dakota.
  • Successfully defended alleged violations of administrative rules and regulations, resulting in $100,000+ fine reductions.
  • Secured drilling and surface use permits from Colorado, Wyoming and North Dakota state agencies, and land use approvals from local governments.
  • Successfully negotiated with local jurisdictions for acceptable MOUs and land use regulations.

Transactional

  • Examined title for over 100 drilling, division order and financing title opinions.
  • Led due diligence team for $300,000,000 acquisition in the DJ Basin.
  • Drafted and negotiated midstream agreements and JOAs.
  • Analyzed and rendered opinions for financing agreements, restructurings, and mortgage amendments.
  • Negotiated and drafted purchase and sale agreements.
  • Negotiated and drafted wellbore assignments and purchase agreements.

Education

  • University of Denver College of Law, Denver, Colorado
    • J.D. - 2004
    • Honors: Chancellor's Scholar
  • University of Notre Dame
    • B.S. - 1999
    • Honors: cum laude
    • Major: Political Science
    • Major: Asian Studies

Bar Admissions

  • Colorado
  • North Dakota
  • Wyoming
  • Montana
  • New Mexico

Professional Associations

  • Colorado, North Dakota and Wyoming Bar Associations, Member
  • Denver Association of Petroleum Landmen Ethics Committee, Chair
  • Colorado Oil and Gas Association Connect Committee
  • Denver Association of Petroleum Landmen Education Committee

Classes & Seminars

  • New Mexico Legislative and Regulatory Update, presentation to the American Association of Professional Landmen, Santa Fe Land Institute and Field Landman Seminar, July, 2021
  • Cover Your Assets: Evaluating Assets and Raising Capital in a Volatile Market, Co-presenter with Jeff Becker at Colorado Bar Association’s Seminar on Oil, Gas, and Mining Law: Current Legal Issues, September 15, 2016
  • Rocky Mountain 2015-2016 Regulatory Update, Denver Association of Petroleum Landmen Summer Educational Event, June 16, 2016
  • The COGCC’s New Enforcement and Penalty Rules, EUCI Webinar, April 1, 2015
  • Send Lawyers, Guns and Money: the COGCC's New $15,000 Fines, Live Presentation for COBAR Natural Resources & Energy Section, January 13, 2015
  • Allocating Horizontal Wellbore Proceeds, Live Presentation for the Denver Association of Petroleum Landmen, January 15, 2014
  • Landmen are from Mars, NDIC Regulators are from Venus: Navigating North Dakota’s Pooling and Spacing Waters, Live Presentation for the Denver Association of Petroleum Landmen, January 16, 2013

Published Works

  • Condemnation Actions and the Mineral Estate, Denver Association of Petroleum Landmen Newsletter, May, 2021
  • Pooling for Landmen in the Rockies and Mid-Continent, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Annual Institute, 11-66 Rocky Mt. Min. L. Inst., 2020
  • The Martinez Decision, Denver Association of Petroleum Landmen Fall Land Institute, November, 2018
  • Operator v. Operator—Determining Rights to Operate in Horizontal Plays, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Annual Institute, 2018-64 Rocky Mt. Min. L. Fdn. 29, 2018
  • Wyoming Board of State Lands Adopts New Lease Form, Denver Association of Petroleum Landmen Newsletter, December, 2012
  • Multiple Articles in the Beatty & Wozniak, P.C. Energy News Alert