Practice Areas
Industries
Energy
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May 25, 2012
Calif. Assembly OKs Bill To Curb Insurers' Iran Investments
The California Assembly on Friday approved legislation aiming to deter insurers from making investments in businesses with financial ties to Iran's energy sector, but the insurance industry claims the measure runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution because it conflicts with federal foreign policy.
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May 25, 2012
American Tank & Vessel Deals Blow To Contractor's $20M Suit
A Texas state judge ruled Tuesday that a former contractor’s claim for $20 million in consulting fees from American Tank & Vessel Inc. is likely offset to some degree because he caused the company to lose an oil pipeline contract with the Ghanaian government.
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May 25, 2012
Ohio OKs Fracking Bill Requiring More Insurance, Disclosures
The Ohio legislature gave final approval Thursday to legislation that calls for oil and gas companies to reveal chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing and requires horizontal well owners to obtain at least $5 million in insurance coverage.
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May 25, 2012
Reopened Uranium Mine At Odds With DOI Ban, 9th Circ. Told
Groups opposed to the 2009 reopening of a defunct uranium mine asked the Ninth Circuit on Friday to revive their claims against federal land regulators in a case that will test the strength of a recent federal ban on uranium mining near the Grand Canyon.
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May 25, 2012
Pelican Refining Seeks $76M From Sigma In Failed Deal
The parent companies of Pelican Refining Co. LLC and Pelican Asphalt Co. LLC headed to Texas state court on Friday to demand $76 million in damages from Sigma Petroleum Inc. after Sigma defaulted on a deal to buy the two refineries.
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May 25, 2012
Top Banks Look To Take Raser's Short-Selling Suit Federal
A group of major investment banks — including Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LP — are seeking to duke it out with Raser Technologies Inc. in Georgia federal court over allegations that naked short selling led to the energy company's stint in bankruptcy.
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May 25, 2012
Lawmakers Vote To Keep NJ In Cap-And-Trade Program
The New Jersey Assembly on Thursday approved a bill taking another swing at Gov. Chris Christie's decision last year to pull the state from a regional cap-and-trade program.
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May 25, 2012
China Challenges US Countervailing Duties At WTO
China filed a World Trade Organization complaint Friday accusing the U.S. of improperly applying countervailing duties to $7.3 billion worth of Chinese products, including the recently announced tariffs on solar panels.
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May 25, 2012
NY AG Says State's Energy Future Lies Beyond Indian Point
New York's top law enforcer on Friday cast doubt on the Indian Point nuclear facility's future, saying state regulators will continue their aggressive stance on spent fuel, fire and earthquake safety and the state's best energy prospects going forward are elsewhere.
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May 25, 2012
NRG Rival Sues To Halt $120M Calif. Car-Charging Deal
Electric vehicle charging company ECOtality Inc. on Friday sued to block a $120 million settlement between NRG Energy Inc. and California regulators that would create electric car-charging stations across the state, saying the deal gives NRG a statewide monopoly.
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May 25, 2012
Shell Keeps $2B Offer Open In Bidding War For Cove Energy
Royal Dutch Shell PLC on Thursday extended its $1.8 billion offer for Cove Energy PLC, giving itself room to evaluate its options after the East Africa-focused company earlier this week instead accepted a rival bid from Thailand's PTT Exploration & Production PCL.
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May 25, 2012
EPA Agrees To Review Wis. Coal Plant's Permits
A Wisconsin federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit accusing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of failing to impose stringent enough permit provisions for a coal-fired power plant in the state, saying the agency has agreed to address the issues.
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May 25, 2012
Repsol Lodges 2nd US Suit Over YPF Nationalization
Spanish oil giant Repsol YPF SA on Monday accused Argentina of violating securities filing rules in New York federal court, the second action the company has taken in American court over the country's decision to nationalize Repsol's local operation YPF earlier this year.
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May 25, 2012
Judge Pares Chevron's RICO Suit Over $18B Pollution Ruling
A New York federal judge on Thursday further trimmed Chevron Corp.'s suit over an alleged extortion campaign that led to an $18 billion environmental judgment in Ecuadorean court, throwing out multiple claims against environmental consultant Stratus Consulting Inc. while keeping in racketeering and extortion claims.
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May 25, 2012
Senate Skips DOI Nominee Amid Energy Confirmations
The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed two new members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as well as a nominee for a Department of Energy post, but failed to act on a nominee for a key administrative job in the Department of the Interior who has faced Republican opposition.
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May 25, 2012
NRC Renews Entergy Nuke Plant License Despite Safety Gripes
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday renewed the license for Entergy Nuclear Operations Inc.’s Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Massachusetts, over the objections of state officials, lawmakers and environmental groups who question the plant’s safety.
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May 25, 2012
IFC Makes First Clean Energy Loan To Central America
The World Bank's financing arm signed its first loan to support clean energy in Central America on Friday, providing $50 million to Honduras' Banco Atlantida SA to fund small-scale renewable power and energy efficiency projects.
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May 24, 2012
Senate Committee Passes $631B Defense Budget
A U.S. Senate panel on Thursday unanimously approved a $631.4 billion defense budget for 2013 that emphasizes greater energy independence, supports additional high-definition intelligence and surveillance activities and aims to limit contractor use and pay.
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May 24, 2012
Goldman Commits $40B To Clean Energy Over 10 Years
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. plans to finance $40 billion in renewable-energy projects over the next decade, an area it considers at a “momentous point” of growth, the investment bank said Thursday.
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May 24, 2012
Texas Floats New Effort To Reduce Gas Flaring
Texas’ energy regulator unveiled an initiative Wednesday aimed at reducing drillers’ use of flaring — the practice of burning off natural gas to access oil — saying the state needed to update its standards as production rises in Texas shale plays.
Expert Analysis
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FERC's Call For Comments On Interconnection Facilities
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued a notice of inquiry on open access and priority rights with regard to interconnection facilities. Increased certainty as to the feasibility and cost of building interconnection facilities could have a positive impact on financing for generation projects, including the development of additional renewable projects, say attorneys with Paul Hastings LLP.
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Mounting Compliance Challenges Under New CIP Standards
Surely compliance with the North American Electric Reliability Corp.’s new cybersecurity standards will increase critical infrastructure protection. But these benefits do not come without costs, such as hardware and software upgrades, compliance training and recordkeeping functions needed to comply, to name a few, say attorneys with Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP.
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Cross-Border Petroleum Reservoir Development Tactics
There is support among leading international scholars and practitioners for the proposition that a country may, if it is unable to reach a unitization agreement with a neighboring country, unilaterally exploit a cross-border hydrocarbon reservoir. However, most countries, for economic and political reasons, prefer a cooperative approach, say Philip Weems and Archie Fallon of King & Spalding LLP.
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Sackett: Bolstering Energy Cos.' Enforcement Defense
While undoubtedly a victory for property rights advocates, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may have broader implications for regulated parties, including energy companies, as a number of existing compliance orders served on energy companies may be subject to Administrative Procedure Act challenges, say Drew Bell, Chris Benson and Cynthia Stroman of King & Spalding LLP.
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Best Practices For Corporate Social Responsibility
As with many industries, the legal services industry has adapted to the demand for sustainability practices. An effective Corporate Social Responsibility program will manifest itself in all strategic planning, from best firm employee practices and environmental sustainability to providing legal services, recruiting and retention of employees, business development, marketing and philanthropy, says Howard Dakoff of Levenfeld Pearlstein LLC.
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Cracking Down On Cross-Market Hedging
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission insists that its rules concerning manipulative energy transactions are clear, and that it has the jurisdiction to pursue manipulation claims wherever the trail may lead, even if it is to markets that lie beyond its traditional stomping grounds in wholesale gas and electric markets for physically delivered products. But industry observers question both propositions, say attorneys with Winston & Strawn LLP.
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EPA's Fair Air Rules For Fracking Emissions
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released final rules to reduce by 95 percent certain air emissions from hydraulically fractured wells. Because the EPA has fashioned a rule that works for both sides of the fracking debate, the air quality issues that have surrounded hydraulic fracturing for the past several months now should be off the table, say James Pardo and Brandon Barnes of McDermott Will & Emery.
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3rd-Party Options For Customer-Generators In Pa.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has issued a final order that sets forth a new policy which alters the definition of "customer generator" for purposes of net metering to include those who contract with third parties. This has important implications for consumers that do not have the financial and/or technical resources to design, build and operate an alternative energy system, say Christopher Lewis and Elizabeth Stern of Blank Rome LLP.
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Fracking Complaints: Similar Cases, Different Results
Decisions in two separate cases, Tucker v. Southwestern Energy Co. and Fiorentino v. Cabot Oil & Gas Co., have applied federal pleading requirements to complaints alleging contamination from hydraulic fracturing — but with very different results. These decisions may shed light on how other courts are likely to apply pleading requirements that may require dismissal at an early stage, says Victor Thomas of King & Spalding LLP.
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New FERC-Approved Standards For Critical Assets
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved the North American Electric Reliability Corporation's eight modified critical infrastructure protection reliability standards. While the Version 4 CIP standards seek to bring clarity and consistency to the identification of cyber assets, the industry is awaiting NERC's proposal of the Version 5 CIP standards, say attorneys with Blank Rome LLP.