Taylor Mouledoux is a Looper Goodwine shareholder and an energy lawyer leading the Energy and Commercial Litigation Practice. He is a versatile attorney with a diverse energy practice that includes litigation, transactional, and regulatory matters both onshore and offshore.
Clients rely on Taylor for his litigation capabilities in complex matters including disputes on the Outer Continental Shelf, Louisiana legacy lawsuits alleging property contamination from historical exploration & production operations, and trade secret disputes involving seismic data ownership and licensing. Taylor has successfully litigated environmental matters under the Clean Water Act and other federal statutes and has pursued and defended lien claims on behalf of operators and service providers under the Louisiana Oil Well Lien Act.
Taylor enjoys the transactional side of his practice, advising clients on a broad array of contractual matters involving joint operating agreements, platform use agreements, seismic licensing agreements, and various other contracts utilized in the E&P industry. His expertise includes negotiating oilfield service contracts, including drilling contracts and master service agreements, and advising clients on insurance and indemnity matters. Taylor’s experience also includes larger transactions involving asset sales and other divestitures, most recently including a negotiated withdrawal by a non-operator from multiple joint operating agreements involving substantial accrued decommissioning liability.
Taylor regularly oversees matters concerning the OCS, representing clients in response to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement incident investigations and working with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on issues relating to Oil Spill Financial Responsibility, financial assurance, and other OCS leasing issues. He has also advocated for clients in matters before the Louisiana Office of Conservation involving site remediation and plugging and abandonment obligations.
Super Lawyers recognized Taylor as a Rising Star in energy and natural resources law, from 2015-2022 and New Orleans Magazine named him a Top Lawyer in Oil & Gas Law from 2021-2023. Taylor has also served as an IR Global advisor for Energy Law in Louisiana since 2021.
Representative Matters
- Representation of Marubeni Oil & Gas (USA) LLC in pursuing a proportionate share of decommissioning costs from predecessors-in-title of bankrupt co-working interest owners.
- Representation of Taylor Energy Company, LLC in matters with BOEM, BSEE, and the U.S. Coast Guard involving clean-up activities on Mississippi Canyon Block 20, which was severely damaged by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
- Drafting and negotiating master service agreements, drilling contracts, and other maritime and oilfield service contracts.
- Representation of clients before the Interior Board of Land Appeals in challenging rulings from BOEM and BSEE
- Retained as an expert witness in a lawsuit filed in Alberta, Canada to provide an expert report addressing U.S. state legal principles involving licensing and misappropriation of seismic data.
- Representation of IHI E&C International Corporation in a products liability dispute in Harris County, Texas.
- Representation of ATP Oil & Gas Corporation in defense of in rem admiralty action asserting maritime and state law liens against the ATP Titan production facility located on the OCS.
- Representation of an oil and gas company in the negotiation of multiple seismic licenses and transfer fees in connection with a private equity transaction.
- Representation of Taylor Energy Company, LLC in defense of an environmental citizen suit involving alleged violations of the Clean Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
- Representation of a seismic licensing company in a lawsuit for license fees owed under various master license agreements for seismic data on the Outer Continental Shelf.
- Representation of EnVen Energy Ventures, LLC in action to collect on Joint Interest Billings from Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations, LLC.
- Representation of Rooster Oil & Gas, LLC in action against BOEM and platform owner to maintain access under a Platform Use Agreement held pursuant to a Right-of-Use and Easement.
- Representation of oil and gas companies in defense of coastal zone lawsuits filed by various Louisiana parishes.
- Representation of service providers pursuing Louisiana Oil Well Lien Act claims against Energy XXI.
- Representation of oil and gas companies in responding to incident investigations by BSEE.
- Representation of an oil and gas company in a dispute concerning the misappropriation of seismic data and unfair trade practices.
- Representation of various oil and gas companies in environmental legacy lawsuits by property owners involving property damage and groundwater contamination.
- Representation of chemical company in defense of class actions and mass actions arising from chemical releases and involving claims for personal injury, property damage, fear and fright, business interruption, and inconvenience.
- Representation of nationwide retailer in defense of premises liability cases involving claims for personal injury.
Court Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. District Courts, Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana
- U.S District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- All Louisiana district and appellate courts
Education
Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, J.D. cum laude, 2008
- Loyola Law Review: Member, 2007-2008
University of Georgia: Terry College of Business, B.B.A., Economics, 2005
Presentations
- Ethics for Landmen and Lawyers / PLANO Executive Night Seminar
February 2020 - Treatment of Offshore E&P Contracts in Bankruptcy / EUCI Offshore Contracts Seminar
January 2015 - Lien Provisions in Master Service Agreements / EUCI Offshore Contracts Seminar
January 2015 - License Agreements for Seismic Data / EUCI Offshore Contracts Seminar
January 2015 - Offshore Liens / LORMAN Emerging Louisiana Legal and Land Issues on the Outer Continental Shelf
March 2014 - Louisiana Oil Well Lien Act / PLANO Executive Night Seminar
April 2013
Memberships & Affiliations
- Louisiana State Bar Association
- Federal Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- New Orleans Bar Association
- Professional Landmen’s Association of New Orleans
- Houston Association of Professional Landmen
- Institute for Energy Law