Practice Areas
Energy
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January 27, 2012
PG&E Fined $17M For Neglecting Pipeline Leak Surveys
California utility regulators on Friday fined Pacific Gas & Electric Co. $16.8 million for failing to perform natural gas pipeline surveys required by a new enforcement program created in the wake of a deadly September 2010 explosion of a PG&E pipeline in San Bruno, Calif.
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January 27, 2012
Dynegy Examiner Granted Broad Subpoena Powers
A New York bankruptcy judge on Friday granted a request by the recently appointed examiner in Dynegy Holdings LLC's prebankruptcy reorganization for broad subpoena powers he said he needed to complete his probe under tight time constraints.
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January 27, 2012
Husch Blackwell Accused Of Bungling Oil Co. Stock Offering
Nevada-based onshore oil company EnerJex Resources Inc. hit Husch Blackwell LLP with a legal malpractice suit in Missouri state court Monday, saying the firm bungled the company's 2008 stock offering and caused EnerJex to suffer $50 million in losses.
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January 27, 2012
Army Must Tackle Energy Costs In $259B Cuts: Chief Of Staff
The U.S. Army must trim energy costs from its home stations and its operational fuel use to help achieve the U.S. Department of Defense’s target to save $259 billion in the next five years, U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno said Friday.
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January 27, 2012
AIG Avoids $7M Claims Over Utah Mine Coverage
A Utah federal judge on Friday dismissed a $7 million suit against American International Group Inc. over coverage for the 2007 Crandall Canyon Mine collapse that killed six miners, finding the court did not have jurisdiction over AIG.
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January 27, 2012
Chesapeake Prevails Against Recorder Of Deeds In Pa. Suit
In a case closely watched by the oil and gas industry, a state appeals court ruled Friday that a local recorder of deeds had no authority to reject Chesapeake Appalachia LLC's attempt to combine 211 lease assignments into one document.
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January 27, 2012
EPA Says Palm Oil Falls Short Of Renewable Fuels Standard
Biofuels made from palm oil fail to meet a renewable fuels standard because of excessive greenhouse gas emissions, according to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report released Friday.
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January 27, 2012
Pa. Lawmakers Object To Gas Drilling Bill Provisions
A group of nine Republican state senators on Wednesday expressed their opposition to a provision in a bill that might prevent municipalities from enforcing their own standards regarding drilling in the gas-rich Marcellus Shale formation.
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January 27, 2012
Commerce Delays Ruling On Chinese Solar Subsidies
The U.S. Department of Commerce said Friday that it was delaying until March 2 its deadline for reaching an initial decision on whether China's solar energy sector had received illegal subsidies.
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January 27, 2012
Chevron Defends Brazil Cleanup As Spill Charges Loom
Chevron Corp. said Friday that it had fully complied with Brazilian laws after an oil spill off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, responding to reports that Chevron and its managers were facing criminal charges in addition to an $11 billion civil suit.
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January 27, 2012
Developer, Native Tribe Team Up For $100M Wind Farm
Idaho-based renewable energy company Exergy Development Group will build a wind farm on tribal land in Maine, a $100 million deal believed to be the nation's first to allow Native Americans majority ownership of a utility-connected project, the parties said Friday.
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January 27, 2012
EU Shale Gas Rules Effective For Now, Study Shows
European Union law is effective in regulating current shale gas exploration but will likely need revision to account for environmental impacts as European drilling companies’ operations begin to look more like those in the United States, according to an EU-commissioned study released Friday.
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January 27, 2012
Woodside Mulls Australia Gas Project Equity Sale
Australian oil and gas company Woodside Petroleum Ltd. is considering selling a minority stake of its 50 percent interest in the AU$30 billion (US$32 billion) proposed Browse Basin liquefied natural gas project in Kimberley, Australia, the company said Friday.
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January 27, 2012
IFC, UK Pour $153M Into PE Fund For Green Projects
The International Finance Corp. and the U.K. have agreed to invest about $153.5 million into a private equity fund for eco-minded companies in emerging markets, Washington-based IFC announced Friday.
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January 27, 2012
Canada Fines 7 More In Quebec Gas Cartel Probe
Seven Canadians have been sentenced to personal fines after pleading guilty to charges of conspiring to fix the price of gasoline sold at stations in Thetford Mines, Quebec, competition authorities said Friday.
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January 27, 2012
Venoco's Shareholders Sue To Block CEO Buyout Bid
Venoco Inc.'s directors were hit with a putative shareholder class action in Colorado federal court on Thursday aimed at blocking the Denver-based energy company's CEO and majority shareholder from buying it out for $12.50 a share.
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January 27, 2012
Foes Of $5.5B Oil Sands Deal Brace For Scrutiny
Canada's charities and nonprofits are bracing for scrutiny as the country's pro-oil-sands government accuses them of using foreign money to sabotage plans for Enbridge Inc.'s $5.5 billion oil sands pipeline, which has just begun a 16-month public review.
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January 27, 2012
Halliburton Fraud Class Wins Cert After SCOTUS Ruling
A Texas federal judge on Friday certified a nearly decade old securities class action lawsuit against Halliburton Co. after the U.S. Supreme Court in June lowered the threshold for such certification.
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January 27, 2012
Linklaters, SNR Denton Join Petroplus Bankruptcy
Linklaters LLP and SNR Denton have been brought on board by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to assist with Swiss oil refiner Petroplus Holdings AG's bankruptcy, the firms said Friday.
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January 27, 2012
Energy Group Of The Year: Simpson Thacher
A new Houston office, where about a dozen attorneys are winning market share from deep-rooted Texas oil and gas law firms, is the highlight of a strong 2011 for Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, one of Law360's Energy Groups of the Year.
Expert Analysis
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Aftershock Of Earth-Shaking Fracking Concerns
Environmentalists have used recent earthquakes in Ohio to call for broader federal regulation on hydraulic fracturing and drilling moratoriums. It is critical to make clear that the facts of this case pertain only to underground injection of wastewater and not the hydraulic fracturing process itself, say Eric Waeckerlin and Michele Hallowell of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.
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Drilling Out The Weak Spots In Auditor Requirements
In September 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a proposed rule that will have the effect of impeding an operator’s ability to comply with safety and environmental management system auditing requirements in Outer Continental Shelf drilling. The oil and gas industry ought to take the lead in proposing guidance for filling gaps in the proposed rule, say Stephanie Salek, Jonathan Henry and Kelsey Desloover of King & Spalding LLP.
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The Nonoccurrence Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Emitters of greenhouse gases now more than ever need to be keenly aware of the exact terms of their insurance coverage policy, as insurers will be able to use the Virginia Supreme Court's recent decision in AES Corp. v. Steadfast Insurance Co. to argue that greenhouse gas emissions do not constitute an occurrence under a standard general liability policy, say Joseph Jean and Kimberly Diamond of Lowenstein Sandler PC.
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Financing LNG Liquefaction Projects
If the natural gas liquefaction capacity currently proposed is constructed, the U.S. could become a hub in a global natural gas trade. The country will have the facilities to both export and import LNG, both short-term and long-term, as well as the facilities to store the commodity for consumption or future export, says David Schumacher of McDermott Will & Emery LLP.
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Winds Of Change In South Africa
The year 2011 looks set to have been a breakthrough year for South Africa, now that its renewables program is up and running after a long road filled with twists and turns. Going forward, the country's energy sector seems poised to make a significant shift from an overwhelming reliance on fossil fuels to renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, says Clint Steyn of Chadbourne & Parke LLP.
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Widening The Net Under Iran Sanctions Act
As tensions grow between the U.S. and Iran, and the U.S. seeks to restrict Iran’s access to oil revenues, it appears likely that the U.S. will continue to pursue a mixture of persuasion and economic coercion against entities and perhaps even states that continue to do business as usual with Tehran, say attorneys with Steptoe & Johnson LLP.
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Challenging Local Bans On Shale Gas Drilling
As the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation finishes its environmental review of shale-gas drilling in the state, opponents are refocusing their efforts at the local level to ban hydraulic fracturing. We expect these laws are just the first of a series of efforts to ban or heavily restrict drilling, say Thomas Warth and Thomas Paul of Hiscock & Barclay LLP.
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Monetizing Utility Infrastructure Assets
Despite difficulties in the current global finance market, there is a steady stream of greenfield utility projects coming online in the Middle East. Developers are bundling their utilities, tapping into local debt or investor equity, structuring deals through private concessions, and in some cases monetizing their utility assets, says Tim Burbury of King & Spalding LLP.
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Blowing Up The Rockets And Feathers 'Conspiracy'
U.S. consumers are not satisfied with the volatility in gasoline prices over the last decade and argue that the "rockets and feathers" phenomenon in gas pricing is evidence of tacit collusion among retailers. Prices rising like rockets only to fall like feathers is real — but the reality is not anti-competitive, nor does it actually hurt consumers, says Michael Noel of Edgeworth Economics.
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Navigating Calif.’s New 33% RPS Law
The California Public Utilities Commission has approved implementation of key provisions of the state’s 33 Percent Renewable Portfolio Standards law, which will have a profound impact on future RPS procurement and investment in the state, say Dian Grueneich and Cara Goldenberg of Morrison & Foerster LLP.