On December 24, 2015 Mexico’s Energy Transition Act was published in the Federal Gazette. The Act’s purpose is to regulate: The sustainable use of energy,The obligations of power companies in the area of clean energies, andThe reductions of the polluting emissions of the electric power industry, ensuring the competitiveness of the productive sectors. To read the full alert, click here ...
As part of the implementation of the Mexican energy reform, the Mexican government has selected certain fields that will gradually be tendered to foreign and domestic companies for hydrocarbon exploration and production projects. Round One comprises 109 blocks for exploration and 60 blocks for production, and includes new areas of different sizes and types of resources, including: (i) deep-water; (ii) shallow-water; and (iii) on-shore fields ...
On December 18th was enacted the Organic Law of Incentives for Public Private Partnerships and Foreign Investment. This law is intended to promote synergies between the private and the public sector. It is based in the principles of fiscal sustainability, Risk allocation, Value for money, respect to interests and rights of the users, property rights and social inclusion ...
One year ago, on December 17, 2014, President Obama announced a policy to increase contact and engagement with the people of Cuba with an ultimate goal of normalizing relations between the US and Cuba. The announcement generated immense press coverage of and commercial interest in Cuba. Since then, the US has removed Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism and the two countries have reopened their respective embassies, thereby formally re-establishing diplomatic relations ...
Even in a difficult commodity price environment, acquisition transactions can produce lucrative opportunities for buyers of oil and gas interests and creditor relief for sellers. One type of transaction in particular provides an opportunity for distressed sellers not only to avoid bankruptcy, but also eliminate the greatest amount of debt possible that is secured by its oil and gas properties ...
Dozens of North American oil and gas producers have commenced Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases this year, including most recently, Escalara Resources Co., RAAM Global Energy Company, Miller Energy Resources, Inc., and Parallel Energy LP ...
The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement is a free trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, the United States, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. After 7 years of negotiations, which began in February 2008, an agreement was reached on October 5, 2015, and the text was published in English on November 5, 2015 ...
As we continue our series of articles relating to distressed commodity prices in the oil and gas market, we expound on the option to monetize assets that are not included in the calculation of your borrowing base. This topic was briefly discussed in our article, “A Dozen Ways to Stretch Your Borrowing Base.” Under reserve based loans (“RBLs”), producing reserves have always been what one may call the “belle of the ball ...
The Obama Administration recently released the signed text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (“TPP”), which represents an important advancement in trading relations among 12 Pacific countries: Australia Brunei Darussalam Canada Chile Japan Malaysia Mexico New Zealand Peru
We are pleased to announce that ENSafrica has joined forces with prominent Ghanaian law firm Oxford & Beaumont Solicitors to form ENSafrica Ghana, reinforcing its position as Africa’s largest law firm. The firm believes that the addition of ENSafrica Ghana will bolster its already strong offering on the continent ...
Signing the transatlantic free-trade agreement could increase Europe’s energy security. The trick is how to compete with American companies that are already using cheaper energy and don’t have to comply with the same restrictions on CO2 emissions. The 10th round of negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement, or TTIP as it is known, was held in Brussels in July 2015 ...
Quebec mining, oil and gas companies are heceforth subject to the imposing disclosure regime under theact respecting transparency measures in the mining, oil and gas industries(the "act"), which came into force last October 21. This statute echoes theExtractive Sector Transparency Measures Act(Canada),1which took effect on June 1, 2015, and follows a global trend to increase the transparency of mining, oil and gas exploration and development ...
The amendments to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) since January 16, 2015 have expanded the scope of transactions that persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States may undertake in relation to Cuba ...
The Interior Board of Land Appeals (“IBLA”) has issued its long awaited decision on an appeal by an offshore service contractor challenging the authority of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (“BSEE”) to issue a citation directly to the service company for a violation of federal offshore regulations. As the first formal opinion issued by any appellate body on the issue, the IBLA decision has widespread implications for the offshore services industry ...
Italy and Turkey have had a strong and well-established economic partnership for decades, with a turnover of about USD 20 billion in 2014 and investment by Italian companies in Turkey in 2014 of around USD 4.5 billion ...
Under Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation No. 23 of 2015 dated 31 July 2015 on the Delegation of Authority to Issue Oil and Gas Business License in the Framework of One-Stop Integrated Services to the Head of BKPM (“Regulation 23/2015”), the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources has delegated its authority to issue oil and gas business licenses for capital investment to the Head of BKPM ...
As is commonly held by energy sector experts, the game-changing development of the shales and the resurgence of natural gas as a virtually new, huge, versatile, long-term fuel, with a shrinking environmental footprint, is based upon the synergistic deployment of several key technologies ...
The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) is embarking on a compliance initiative to ensure that sources that handle hazardous waste are complying with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) requirements, particularly that sources are operating within their correct generator status, disclosing certain hazardous waste activities, and submitting required reports ...
The issue of decarbonisation of the economies of EU member states, and in particular Poland, generates a lot of heat. Decarbonising the economy was named as one of the EU’s five energy priorities in the Commission communication entitled “A Framework Strategy for a Resilient Energy Union with a Forward-Looking Climate Change Policy.” In European Union documents, decarbonisation means elimination of CO2 emissions because of their harmfulness to the environment ...
After a marathon weekend negotiating session in Atlanta, trade ministers from the United States and eleven other countries reached a final agreement on the terms and text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP is a multi-faceted trade agreement among Pacific Rim nations that account for approximately 40 percent of world GDP ...
It is common knowledge that electricity is a main driver of the economy and a country’s electricity strategy will largely determine the long-term sustainability of an economy. The relationship between the Chinese economic miracle and the science behind the development of its electricity strategy is inseparable. Africa, as the centrepiece of development in the world, will require a practical strategy for electricity in order to guarantee the stable development of its economies ...
Under longstanding regulations governing its risk management program, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) may require an offshore oil and gas lessee or operator operating on the Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”) to provide additional security, over and above standard security requirements, if BOEM determines that the security is necessary to ensure compliance with OCS lease obligations ...
Hunton & Williams is pleased to announce the release of its newly designed and mobile-responsive Immigration and Nationality Law Blog, www.huntonimmigrationlawblog.com. “Our immigration law blog has been a valuable resource for US employers,” said Ian Band, who heads the firm’s immigration and nationality practice ...
