Introduction: The new reality As a result of the sudden and dramatic fall in the oil price that had occurred between June 2014, when oil had been trading at prices of around US$115 per barrel of Brent crude, to January 2015 by which time it had fallen to around US$35 per barrel, I was prompted to prepare a “Guide for Contractors”. Parties in the offshore oil and gas sector, and in particular contractors in the industry, were facing turbulent and unpredictable times ...
The Ministry of Mines and Energy, through Resolution 40115 of 2020, extended until December 31, 2020 the delegation of the inspection function carried out by the department of Antioquia. On the other hand, the Secretary of Mines of Antioquia extended the suspension of some administrative actions until April 13, 2020 ...
I. Superintendence of Environment orders the extension of the terms suspension in sanctioning proceedings and other actions. On March 30, 2020 the Superintendence of Environment (“SMA”) issued Exempt Resolution No. 548 (“Res. 548”), which extended the term suspension measures ordered by means of Exempt Resolution No ...
You’ve read the qualifying language before: across the country, construction projects are being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We thought it important to prepare guidelines to assist contractors in navigating the situation from a risk management perspective. The situation is dynamic and will change quickly. A one-size-fits-all solution does not exist, and this global challenge continues to evolve. What works today may not address tomorrow’s needs ...
Compliance with environmental regulations is challenging under the best of circumstances, but the COVID-19 crisis and measures taken in response add a new layer of complexity. The lack of a consistent message from elected officials and health officers, on the one hand, and from federal and state environmental regulators, on the other, creates a quandary for the business community ...
On 31 March 2020, the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (“DEFF”) published directions (the “Directions”) under the National Disaster Management Act, 2002, to reduce the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The purpose of the Directions is to ensure fair processes with respect to certain environmental laws, as a result of the restrictions placed on the movement of people during the lockdown period ...
The coronavirus pandemic has impacted the food industry, just as it has many others. The good news is that food-to-person transmission of the disease does not seem to be a risk. The challenge remains keeping workers safe from airborne and surface transmission. However, the FDA and the USDA have provided guidance and recommendations to food producers to deal with COVID-19, links to which have been provided below. The guidance focuses on stopping the person-to-person spread of the disease ...
The National Mining Agency ("ANM") and the National Hydrocarbons Agency ("ANH") published resolutions by means of which they extended the suspensions of some of their activities during the preventive isolation decreed by the National Government. First, the ANM published the Resolution No. 116 of 2020, by means of which it extended until April 12, the suspensions set forth in its Resolution 096 of 2020 ...
In response to the State of Health Emergency, and the State of Economic, Cultural and Ecological Emergency, issued by the National Government, the Public Utilities Superintendence mentions that the events of climate variability can threaten the provision of public water utility by reducing water resources ...
Due to the reforms and additions to the General Health Act in matters of obesity and labeling of food and non-alcoholic beverages setting a frontal warning system, published in the Federal Official Gazette (Spanish Acronym - DOF) on November 8, 2019 ...
Many regulated entities are struggling to comply with certain environmental reporting, monitoring and settlement agreement requirements because of the impact of shelter in place orders, supply chain disruptions, and social distancing requirements relating to the COVID-19 pandemic response ...
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT or Commission) issued three orders on March 26, 2020, establishing a new COVID-19 Electricity Relief Program for residential customers and modifying certain regulatory requirements applicable to retail electric providers (REPs) and electric utilities, including transmission and distribution utilities (TDUs) ...
In Poland, the National Appeal Chamber upholds the effectiveness of the rules guaranteeing transparent and non-discriminatory access to public procurement contracts within the EU. Member states are required to ensure contractors the consideration of review procedures concerning the award of public contracts, as is clear from the Remedies Directive. The task of the National Appeal Chamber (KIO) is to effectively and quickly eliminate infringements in public procurement cases ...
Public procurement is one of the biggest driving forces of the economy. Contract performance during the epidemic may be impeded, but ongoing public procurement proceedings should not be stopped just because people are currently working mainly at home ...
Temporary flexibility of the terms of adjustment of guarantees and the term to carry out audits to the Reliability Charge was defined. The Energy and Gas Regulation Commission, seeking to guarantee the proper provision of electric power service, decrees that the value of the guarantee in Article 31 of CREG Resolution 061 of 2007 will not be adjusted in the scenario presented in paragraph 2, numeral 3: 3 ...
ANH published an Addendum to the PPAA and the draft agreement on measures to strengthen the sector. The National Hydrocarbons Agency ("ANH") joins the emergency measures adopted by the National Government to face the health contingency due to the propagation of COVID-19 and the international fall in oil prices ...
The mining and energy sector, through its competent authorities, joins the National Government's contingency measures to prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The measures adopted correspond mainly to the suspension of specific activities that require on-site attention and the suspension of procedural terms for particular requirements and situations ...
In some areas, intellectual property will experience a period of slowdown in activity, at least in the near future. We look at this in more detail below. However, this does not mean mandatory registration of industrial property will come to a halt because, with many bodies, including the Portuguese INPI (National Institute of Industrial Property), registration is done online ...
A global public health emergency was declared by the World Health Organization on 30 January 2020 as a result of the spread of the new virus COVID-19. The virus was later classified as a pandemic on 11 March 2020. As a result, it is important guard against any negative impact of the events relating to COVID-19 on ongoing energy licensing processes and on the energy market as a whole, particularly in the light of Decree-Law 172/2006 of23 August (“DL 172/2006”) ...
The British government has adopted stringent measures to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus effective from 23 March 2020[1], including a nationwide lockdown, closure of non-essential shops and public venues and mandatory social distancing. The general rule is that people should stay at home, but workers can travel to and from work if they cannot perform their work from home[2] ...
On March 26, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a temporary policy on its enforcement of environmental obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many facilities are experiencing unexpected constraints arising from the pandemic, including limited availability of key staff, contractors, and laboratories ...
On March 26, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a temporary policy on its enforcement of environmental obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many facilities are experiencing unexpected constraints arising from the pandemic, including limited availability of key staff, contractors, and laboratories ...
First and foremost, our collective priority is, and should remain, human health and safety. As local, state, and federal government take action to help limit the spread of COVID-19, we are monitoring the rapid developments of this fast-moving news cycle and COVID-19’s impacts on renewable energy markets. Many open questions remain regarding the impact of COVID-19 in North Carolina – particularly the impact on businesses ...
