On March 1st, 2016, Supreme Decree N° 62 of the Ministry of Economy, introduced in 2006 (hereinafter, the “Decree 62”), that regulates capacity transfers among power generation companies entered into force, modifying the methodology used to calculate transfers.IntroductionThe Chilean electric system remunerates power generation companies for two products: energy and capacity ...
TheSarajevo Business Forum2016(SBF) was, among hosting a number of lectures and discussions, a platform for one of the largest post-war investments in the energy sector in Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH) ...
On April 29, 2016, the National Center for Energy Control (“CENACE”) announced the second auction for long-term supply and purchase contracts to satisfy the need of basic service suppliers (for the time being, the Federal Electricity Commission, perhaps better known for its acronym, “CFE”), for power, capacity, and clean energy certificates. The standard commercial operation date of the projects awarded under the auction is scheduled for January 1, 2019 ...
On May 2, 2016, the Colorado Supreme Court issued two anticipated opinions that are important to the oil and gas industry in Colorado, and could be precedent for similar efforts pending in a number of states where local governmental entities are trying to rein in fracking ...
The Mexican Secretary of Energy (“SENER”) has received 62 applications from 32 companies during the first 15 days of April 2016. As of April 25, it has granted 16 permits for the importation of gasoline and 26 permits for the importation of diesel. Read the full alert ...
Pemex is considering offering to the private sector up to six of its refineries to obtain some liquidity for its financial restructuring. As announced by Pemex’s CEO, José Antonio González Anaya, estimated individual transaction values may range from US$500 million to US$1.5 billion per refinery. The six refineries are currently operating at a collective, estimated annual loss of MX$100 billion (approximately US$5.8 billion) ...
The effects of the precipitous decline in oil and gas prices after mid-2014 are well chronicled, but are still unfolding. Although oil prices have risen recently, the current price environment continues to adversely affect a broad range of energy-industry and related-industry businesses, including exploration and production, service and supply, and midstream companies, as well as those that directly or indirectly support or contract with those businesses ...
It is slowly starting to feel like distant history when civilisation's efforts to satisfy the most fundamental need for energy were focused mainly on utilising non-renewable sources. Fossil fuels, natural gas, oil, and coal have been the backbone of the industrial age's rapid development, effectively helping bring on the contemporary era of existence we are witnesses of ...
On 15 April 2016, the Minister of Mineral Resources, Mosebenzi Zwane (the “Minister”), unexpectedly published the draft Reviewed Broad Based Black-Economic Empowerment Charter for the South African Mining and Minerals Industry, 2016 (“draft reviewed Mining Charter”). The timing of its publication means that the fate of the Chamber of Mines’ current High Court application now hangs in the balance ...
The Uruguayan Government announced a non-binding call for expressions of interest in order to define the demand for the purchase of gas in relation to the regasification plant GNL del Plata, which is under construction by Gas Sayago (owned by the state-owned companies UTE and ANCAP). The call launched today refers to services of storage capacity, regasification or reloading of LNG and will remain open until May 6th, 2016 ...
Last week, Greece's biggest tobacco company, "Seke", acquired four hectares of land in the industrial zone of Kruševo, Macedonia. It has been reported that the company's plan is to build a factory for tobacco processing there, and that the honorary investment in this case amounted to EUR 5 million. The main cause of interest in this area for Seke were the region's favourable conditions for tobacco growth, as well as the presence of good-quality, highly professional workers ...
Republika Srpska's Minister of Industry, Energy, and Mines, Petar Đokić, together with a group of entrepreneurs, recently visited a business forum in Nizhny Novgorod – one of the leading industrial areas in Russia – for the purpose of promoting investments in the region ...
The Government of Republic of Macedonia, acting through the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning ("Ministry"), recently published another public call for the awarding of concessions of HPP Ćebren and HPP Galište, and two other public calls for concession of total 48 new small hydro power plants ("SHHPs") ...
Amendments to the Law on Technological Industrial Development ZonesAnother set of amendments to the Law on Technological Industrial Development Zones ("Law") was recently enacted by the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia. The amendments address the specific activities which are allowed or prohibited under the Law in the area of information and communication technology ...
Another set of amendments to the Law on Technological Industrial Development Zones ("Law") was recently enacted by the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia. The amendments address the specific activities which are allowed or prohibited under the Law in the area of information and communication technology. All activities that are allowed to be conducted within these zones are now exhaustively listed in the recently-amended Law ...
This alert describes certain information regarding the recently filed bankruptcy case of Emerald Oil, Inc. and is an example of current developments in the energy industry.Emerald Oil, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively referred to as the “Debtors”) filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S ...
The Office of Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) issued a revised Handbook for examination of Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Lending on March 16, 2016 (the “March 2016 Handbook”). This March 2016 Handbook replaces and significantly revises the OCC’s prior version issued April 9, 2014, which is no longer available on the OCC website (the “April 2014 Handbook”) ...
Following up on the announcement from Mexico’s Ministry of Energy about a month earlier, on March 22, 2016, the Energy Regulatory Commission (“CRE”) approved the regulatory framework to allow the importation of gasoline and diesel into Mexico as of April 1, 2016. The regulations trigger open access to the storage facilities and transportation pipelines owned by PEMEX LOGISTICA (“PEMEX”). The regulations cover the following: i ...
Special Economic Zones (“SEZs”) are geographically designated areas within a country that are set aside for specifically targeted economic activities, supported through special arrangements (that may include laws) and systems to promote industrial development. An SEZ is meant to be an economic development tool to promote rapid economic growth by using various support measures to attract targeted foreign and domestic investments and technology ...
Deriving from the enormous interest shown by the investors towards the liberalization of the oil and gas industry, Mexico’s Ministry of Energy has eliminated the restriction to import gasoline and diesel by private parties as of April 1, 2016.Read the full alert ...
Following publication of the Regulation (EU) No. 2015/2424 which is part of the reform legislative package that also replaces the existing Trade Mark Directive, the long awaited reform of the existing Community trade mark will enter into force on 23 March 2016. The most evident change is that the Community trade mark will be renamed the European Union trade mark (EUTM), adopting the terminology of the Lisbon Treaty ...
At a recently held Roundtable on the topic of the economic and environmental challenges that are surrounding the process of building the second block of the thermal power plant in Pljevlja, the Montenegrin Network for the Affirmation of the NGO sector (MANS), has scrutinised the whole idea behind this state-owned National Power Company of Montenegro's (EPCG) project ...
In February, the British-based Mineco Group has officially submitted the request for an urban permit before the Bosnian Ministry of Physical Planning for its project of building a lead mine in the town of Olovo, Bosnia & Herzegovina ...
A proposed Act on Wind Power Plant Projects presented in February 2016 is intended to specify the rules for siting of wind farms. But the current version of the proposal generates a huge risk for further growth of the wind power sector and for wind farms already in operation and even for persons interested in building housing near existing wind projects. The issue of siting of wind farms near other construction has created a lot of confusion ...
With the steep collapse of oil and gas prices in the last eighteen months, dozens of exploration and production companies have declared bankruptcy and many more companies are expected to file for bankruptcy protection unless prices rebound dramatically ...
