Mark L. Burghardt

Mark structures oil and gas, mining, and renewable energy deals from acquisition and exploration to production and decommissioning.

Mark Burghardt brings nearly two decades of practice to energy and natural resource development, representing clients through every stage of a project's life: acquisition, exploration, financing, permitting, and, when necessary, litigation. His work spans oil and gas, mining, geothermal, helium, hydrogen, and renewable energy, often on lands where federal, state, private, and Indian ownership interests overlap.

On the transactional side, Mark advises clients on title and other due diligence, surface and mineral leasing, purchase and sale agreements, and financing documents including security agreements and deeds of trust. He has issued drilling, division order, and acquisition title opinions across Utah, Wyoming, Alaska, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, and North Dakota, and has conducted due diligence for projects ranging from producing oil and gas assets to utility-scale solar and commercial geothermal developments.

Mark regularly counsels pipeline operators and energy companies on acquiring land rights, drafting and negotiating easements, rights-of-way, and leases, and advises on the exercise of eminent domain for roads, pipelines, and transmission lines. He works directly with state and federal agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining (DOGM), and the State Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), guiding clients through federal and state permitting and bonding requirements for natural resource, mining, and renewable energy projects.

When disputes arise, Mark litigates in both federal and state court and appears before administrative bodies including the Utah Board of Oil, Gas and Mining and the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA). He has successfully defended title disputes, quiet title actions, pipeline access claims, and lease termination appeals, and has obtained preliminary injunctions on behalf of midstream companies in pipeline disputes. His litigation work includes matters before the Utah Supreme Court, where he helped overturn existing case law and establish new precedent.

Mark also advises clients on emerging energy sectors, researching and securing rights for helium and hydrogen projects, structuring compressed air energy storage (CAES) and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) projects, and counseling companies on natural gas storage facilities. His practice reflects the full arc of the energy transition: from conventional oil and gas to the infrastructure and technologies reshaping how energy is produced and stored across the western United States.