Sam Niebrugge

Sam Niebrugge focuses his practice on transactional matters. His versatility as a lawyer and familiarity with the business trends impacting different industries make him an asset to legal teams assisting clients with complex transactions in a range of sectors.

Mr. Niebrugge’s practice has, for instance, involved the drafting and negotiating of purchase and sale, development, exploration, joint operating, farmout, and master services agreements, in addition to other agreements in the oil and gas and mining industries. He has experience in both asset and equity transactions, as well as in the preparation of all forms of title opinions covering fee, state, and federal lands.

Mr. Niebrugge received his J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and was admitted into the Order of St. Ives, an honor awarded to graduates ranking in the top 10 percent of the graduating class. He earned a B.S.E. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in Mechanical Engineering in 2003. He is a registered patent attorney.

Mr. Niebrugge has authored several papers and spoken extensively to in-house counsel and at continuing legal education events on his transactional work. He was named a “Rising Star” by Colorado Super Lawyers from 2014 to 2020. He was also selected for inclusion in Who’s Who Legal: Energy 2015-2020.

Mr. Niebrugge is a member of the Colorado and Denver Bar Associations and the State Bar Associations of New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming. He is a founding member of the Denver Zoo’s Leadership Council and currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Institute for Energy Law. Mr. Niebrugge serves on the board of directors for the Colorado Lawyer Trust Account Foundation, an innovative partnership between Colorado lawyers and the banking community, whereby the interest on lawyers’ pooled trust accounts is used to improve access to civil justice. He has volunteered for Denver Public Schools as a substitute teacher and has been a mentor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. He is a trustee and member of the Site Selection Committee of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation (RMMLF). Mr. Niebrugge is also a former member of the RMMLF’s Financial Advisory Committee and Special Institutes Committee and the co-chair of the Oil and Gas Section for the 2018 Annual Institute. He is also a former chair of the RMMLF Young Professionals Committee. Within the firm, Mr. Niebrugge was previously a member of the DGS Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Technology Committees.

Representative Transactions

• $1.8 billion sale of producing and non-producing assets in Wyoming
• $1.5 billion sale of producing and non-producing assets in the Delaware Basin in Texas in a combined asset and equity transaction
• $1.1 billion sale of producing and non-producing assets in North Dakota in a combined asset and equity transaction
• $1 billion transaction for the sale of producing and non-producing assets in the Anadarko Basin
• $925 million purchase and sale agreement in the Jonah Field of Wyoming
• $880 million purchase and sale agreement in the Eagleford Basin of Texas
• $400 million participation agreement for the development of several federal units
• $335 million purchase and sale agreement in the Wind River and Powder River Basins of Wyoming and Garfield County, Colorado
• $330 million purchase agreement in Divide and Williams County, North Dakota
• $250 million sale of producing and nonproducing assets in Colorado
• $214 million purchase and sale agreement in the DJ Basin of Colorado
• $208 million purchase and sale agreement in Pennsylvania