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Ken Culotta is a partner in the Houston office of King & Spalding and a founding member of the firm’s London affiliate, King & Spalding International LLP.  He is a member of the firm’s Global Transactions Practice Group, as well as the Latin America Practice.

Mr. Culotta represents a broad spectrum of energy and natural resource industry clients, including oil and gas producers, transport and storage providers, power, LNG and CNG concerns, petrochemical manufacturers, energy marketers, service companies, and mining companies. His practice focus includes cross-border transactions, and the unique public and private law issues involved in structuring, documenting and negotiating these transactions.

His work experience includes preparation of host country, joint venture, project development and other investment agreements, production sharing agreements, farm-ins, operating agreements, power purchase and electric plant operation and maintenance agreements, oil and gas pipeline transportation agreements, LNG sales, transportation and terminaling agreements, construction contracts, oil, gas and electric power services/supply/sales contracts (including NAESB and EEI contracts), minerals marketing agreements, joint venture, corporate acquisition and financing documentation and related transactional documents.

Mr. Culotta received his B.A. from The University of Texas in 1979, and his J.D. at The University of Texas School of Law in 1985. Mr. Culotta also did graduate work in Comparative Literature at the University of Texas (1979-1980) and attended the Albert Ludwigs-Universität in Freiburg, Germany as a DAAD Fellow (1980-1981). He is fluent in Spanish and German.

Awards and Recognition

Mr. Culotta has consistently been ranked in the following publications:

• The Best Lawyers in America 2010 in the specialties of Energy Law and Project Finance Law
  
  
• “Guide to the World’s Leading Project Finance Lawyers” in association with the International Financial Law Review
  
  
• Chambers Global 2009
  
  
• Chambers USA Expert Guides “Guide to the World’s Leading Lawyers” 2009
  
  
• The Best Lawyers in America 2009
  
  
• “Texas Super Lawyer ” by Texas Monthly magazine 2009
  
  
• Latin Lawyer 250 Guide 2008
  
  
• Who’s Who Legal: Texas - Oil and Gas 2009
  
  
• The Best of the Best 2008
  
  
• “Top Lawyers” by Corporate Counsel 2008
  
  
• “Honors Edition” of Madison Who’s Who Among Executives and Professionals 2008
  
  
• "Guide to the World's Leading Energy & Natural Resource Lawyers" 2010, by Expert Guides

Publications

• Kenneth S. Culotta, The LNG Market in Flux: A US Perspective, LAW360, November 7, 2008.
  
  
• Kenneth S. Culotta & Monica Hwang, FERC Lifts Short-Term Capacity Release Rate Ceiling and Provides Safe Harbor for Asset Management Arrangements, King & Spalding Client Alert, July 15, 2008.
  
  
• Kenneth S. Culotta, Social License to Operate and Indigenous Peoples: Whither The Nation State, Mining Law, IBA Section on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law, May 2008.
  
  
• Kenneth S. Culotta & Monica Hwang, Uncertain LNG Price Environment Turns Focus on Price Revision Clauses, LNG Journal, April 2008.
  
  
• Kenneth S. Culotta & John P. Crespo, Mexican Methane, Energy Magazine, Winter 2007.
  
  
• Kenneth S. Culotta & John P. Crespo, Mexico’s Latest Step Towards Energy Liberalization, Energy Law 360, Portfolio Media, Inc., March 13, 2007.
  
  
• Kenneth S. Culotta & James E. Goddard, Mitigating Volatility or Inviting Market Power? FERC Lowers the Bar, Public Utilities Fortnightly, September 2006.
  
  
• Recipe for a Tex-Mex Pipeline Project: Considerations in Permitting a Cross-Border Gas Transportation Project, Tex. Int’l L.J. 287, 2003-2004.

Speaking and Teaching Engagements

• 55th Annual Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Institute, San Francisco, California, July 23-25, 2009
  
  
• Infocast’s Storage Week, Chairman, San Diego, California, July 13-16, 2009
  
  
• CAIL Symposium, Dallas, Texas, June 15-16, 2009
  
  
• Infocast’s Midstream Gas Assets Acquisition & Divestiture Summit, Houston, Texas, February 18-20, 2009
  
  
• Award of Excellence for the 2009 AIPN Spring Conference Organizing Committee
  
  
• Infocast’s Power Storage Projects & Enabling Technologies Summit, “Making the Case for Investment in Energy Storage Technologies,” San Diego, California, July 14-16, 2008
  
  
• CWC LNG 2008 San Antonio Conference, “The Second Wave of LNG Terminals: What Will it Take to Succeed?” San Antonio, April 21-23, 2008
  
  
• Infocast’s Midstream Gas Asset Acquisition & Divestiture Summit, “Private Equity’s Perspectives on the Midstream Gas Asset A&D Market” Houston, Texas, February 25-27, 2008
  
  
• CWC Eighth Annual World LNG Summit, Rome, December 3-6, 2007
  
  
• Infocast’s Gas Storage Finance & Investment Summit, “The Impact of the Project Finance Market on Project Development Strategies,” Houston, Texas, October 22-24, 2007
  
  
• CWC LNG 2007 San Antonio Conference, San Antonio, March 7-9, 2007
  
  
• AIPN Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Annual Short Course “International Energy Law, Contracts and Negotiations - Purchase and Sale Agreements,” Houston, Texas, October 6, 2006
  
  
• LNG Conference “Key Considerations for LNG Export: Developers and Recent Developments in LNG Sale and Purchase Agreements,” Tower of London, London, England, May 4, 2006
  
  
• CWC LNG 2006 San Antonio Conference and Executive Briefings, “Current Regulatory Issues in LNG Terminal and Gas Storage Development,” San Antonio, Texas, March 16, 2006
  
  
• Oil & Gas IQ Conference, Advanced Contract Risk Management for the LNG Supply Chain, “Multi-user LNG Terminal Services Agreements: Issues and Trends,” Houston, Texas, January 30 - 31, 2006
  
  
• Conference Connections Singapore Conference, “Upstream Government Petroleum Contracts - Legal and Commercial Terms,” Singapore, September 12-13, 2005. Also presented this comprehensive two day course previously in Singapore, Houston and Bahrain
  
  
• Barton Creek Executive LNG Conference, “Effects of LNG Value Chain Segment Upset,” Austin, Texas, October 25, 2005
  
  
• Cross Border Unitization Conference, “Introduction to Cross Border Unitization - A Legal Perspective,” London, England, October 10-13, 2005
  
  
• CWC LNG Conference, “Step-In Rights with Respect to LNG Terminal Capacity,” New Orleans, Louisiana, April 14, 2005
  
  
• Practicing Law Institute, “Energy Project Development Issues in Emerging Markets,” New York, New York, October 14, 2004
  
  
• LNG Express Workshop, “LNG Sale and Purchase Agreements: Term Expiration and Incremental Capacity Provisions,” Houston, Texas, September 16, 2004
  
  
• Oil & Gas IQ Conference, “Government Control Provisions in Upstream Contracts,” London, England, January 30, 2004
  
  
• University of Texas First Annual Gas and Power Institute, “Recipe for a Tex-Mex Pipeline Project: Considerations in Permitting a Cross Border Gas Transportation Project,” Houston, Texas, November 14, 2002
  
  
• State Bar of Texas 14th Annual International Law Institute Conference, “Refreshing the Boilerplate - Part 1 - The Memorandum of Understanding or How to Keep Your MOU from Becoming an IOU,” Houston, Texas, February 22, 2002
  
  
• Venezuelan-American Chamber of Commerce Seminar, “A Regional Comparative Analysis of Latin American Telecommunications Laws,” Miami, Florida, August 8, 2000