James M. Tartaglia

Member

Biography

Jim Tartaglia advises energy and natural resources clients on an array of transactional, contract, and title matters. Jim has extensive experience assisting operators and non-operators in the Rockies and Appalachia with acquisitions and divestitures, due diligence, contract negotiation and compliance, and mineral title issues. He regularly supports developers across various sectors of the energy industry, including upstream and midstream oil and gas, coal, critical minerals, and renewables.

Jim takes pride in delivering excellent service to a wide range of the firm’s large, midsize, and startup clients. He is known for providing thoughtful, creative, and cost-efficient solutions to help in-house legal and land departments reach their goals.

Representative Experience

Regularly assisted several of the largest E&Ps in West Virginia with drafting, negotiating, and performing under joint operating agreements, purchase and sale agreements, joint development agreements, mineral leases, and other industry contracts
Managed land and contract due diligence teams in the purchase of a $2.6 billion Uintah Basin asset package
Co-managed title due diligence teams of over 50 attorneys to support a client’s $1.5 billion acquisition of producing an undeveloped Marcellus/Utica acreage in West Virginia and Pennsylvania
Frequently advised one of the nation’s largest potash development prospects with an array of title, contractual, and operational needs
Assisted a Bakken Shale developer with title and leasing issues on federal, tribal, and state lands in North Dakota (including Missouri Riverbed mineral disputes)
Drafted hundreds of drilling and division order title opinions for numerous oil and gas operators in Colorado, West Virginia, and beyond
Advised developers and landowners in Virginia and West Virginia with drafting and negotiating leases, easements, and other contracts for solar and wind projects
Represented a Virginia-based coal operator in a multi-million-dollar acquisition of an interstate trucking businesses, including NTSB and IRP compliance issues
Prepared title opinions and related curative documentation for a utility-scale solar developer in Virginia
Assisted an institutional lender with documentation and due diligence for several multi-million-dollar loans with oil and gas collateral packages
Drafted LLC operating agreements and related corporate formation documents for mineral investment startups
Assisted a coal operator with SEC reporting and compliance needs

Show All

Licensed In

Colorado
West Virginia
Virginia

Education

J.D. University of Richmond School of Law

B.A. Washington & Lee

Memberships

Vice Chair, Energy Dispatch Editorial Board (YEP Publications Subcommittee), Institute for Energy Law, 2025
Member, Oilfield Services Subcommittee, Institute for Energy Law, 2025
The Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law, 2016-Present
Colorado Solar and Storage Association, 2016-Present

Speaking Engagements

“Joint Operating Agreements 101,” Greater Appalachian Basin Association of Lease and Title Analysts (June 2024)
“Joint Operating Agreements 101,” Denver Association of Division Order Analysts (November 2024)
Co-Presenter, “Waters of the U.S. and North Dakota Missouri River Issues,” S&J Energy Webinar (September 2020)
Co-Presenter, “A Year in Review: A Look Back at How Oil and Gas Regulation Changed in 2019,” S&J Energy Webinar (January 2020)

Publications

“Colorado Finalizes New Water Usage Standards for Oil and Gas Operations,” Institute for Energy Law, Energy Dispatch (forthcoming May 2025)
“Colorado Codifies Pore Space Ownership and Regulation of Carbon Storage Operations,” Institute for Energy Law, Energy Law Advisor, Vol. 18, No. 3 (October 2024)
- Republished in “National Association of Division Order Analysts Newsletter” (Fall 2024)
- Author, “Colorado Codifies Pore Space Ownership and Regulation of Carbon Storage Operations,” Institute for Energy Law, Energy Law Advisor, Vol. 18, No. 3 (October 2024)
“Field Landman Question of the Month,” Denver Association of Professional Landmen, The Rocky Mountain Landman
- Colorado Produced Water Rulemaking (April 2025)
- Colorado’s Pore Space Legislation (November 2024)
- Dormant Mineral Acts and Marketable Title Acts (May 2024)
- Inflation Reduction Act Changes to Federal Oil and Gas Leasing (December 2023)
- Pore Space Ownership Across the Rockies (February 2023)
- Habendum Clause Issues in Boulder County v. Crestone Peak (September 2021)
- Unrecorded Deeds (April 2021)
- Our Health: Longmont’s Drilling Ban After Senate Bill 181 (December 2020)
- Fractional Mineral Reservations in Moeller v. Ferrari Energy (September 2020)
- Advertising State Lease Sales in North Dakota (February 2020)

“Louisiana,” University of Oklahoma Oil and Gas, Natural Resources and Energy Journal, 10 Oil & Gas, Nat. Resources & Energy J. 353 (2025)
“Arkansas,” University of Oklahoma Oil and Gas, Natural Resources and Energy Journal, 9 Oil & Gas, Nat. Resources & Energy J. 141 (2023)
“Louisiana,” University of Oklahoma Oil and Gas, Natural Resources and Energy Journal, 9 Oil & Gas, Nat. Resources & Energy J. 185 (2023)
“Utah,” University of Oklahoma Oil and Gas, Natural Resources and Energy Journal, 7 Oil & Gas, Nat. Resources & Energy J. 471 (2021)
“Utah,” University of Oklahoma Oil and Gas, Natural Resources and Energy Journal, 2019 Survey on Oil & Gas, 5 Oil & Gas, Nat. Resources & Energy J. 311 (2019)

“Utah,” University of Oklahoma Oil and Gas, Natural Resources and Energy Journal, 2018 Survey on Oil & Gas, 4 Oil & Gas, Nat. Resources & Energy J. 449 (2018)
“Utah,” University of Oklahoma Oil and Gas, Natural Resources and Energy Journal, 2017 Survey on Oil & Gas, 3 Oil & Gas, Nat. Resources & Energy J. 839 (2017)
“Utah,” University of Oklahoma Oil and Gas, Natural Resources and Energy Journal, 2016 Survey on Oil & Gas, 2 Oil & Gas, Nat. Resources & Energy J. 353 (2016)
Co-author, “Colorado,” Texas A&M Journal of Property Law, Oil & Gas Survey Volume 2 (2015)
“Utah,” Texas A&M Journal of Property Law, Oil & Gas Survey Volume 2 (2015)
“Utah,” Texas A&M Journal of Property Law, Oil & Gas Survey Volume 2 (2014)