If 2015 is considered to be the “Year to Amend and Extend,” then 2016 is setting up to be the “Year of Reckoning.” Last year began with high hopes for a reset to the oilfield activity levels of mid-2014, which did not materialize. Market conditions appeared to stabilize in the middle of 2015 at an activity level to support an oil price of $60 per barrel, but that stability did not last long since 2015 concluded with oil below $40 per barrel ...
Decree N° 50/2015, issued by the Ministry of Public Works, has been enacted. This act approves the Regulation that sets the technical conditions to be fulfilled during the design, construction and operation stages of hydraulic works, as defined in Article 294 of the Water Code.Through this Decree, the Ministry of Public Works has set the text for the Regulation of Large Public Hydraulic Works, which had been pending enactment since 1981 ...
On December 15, 2015, the National Hydrocarbons Commission (Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos or, “CNH”) in a successful public bid for Mexico, awarded all of the 25 available blocks of License Agreements for the Production of Hydrocarbons in on-shore contract areas. A total of 41 formal bidders submitted effective proposals ...
On February 23, 2016 the Secretariat of Energy (SENER) published a notice in the Federal Gazette by means of which as of April 1, 2016 such authority can grant import permits of gasoline and diesel into Mexico to any interested party that complies with the applicable legal provisions, including those set forth in the Administrative Resolution published in the Federal Gazette on December 29, 2014 and amended by publication in the same Gazette on December 30, 2015 that establi
Following the creation of the regulatory framework and the successful passing of required tests, the first organised electricity market in Serbia, ("SEEPEX"), has officially launched its operations on 17 February, 2016. This power exchange operator was set up jointly by Elektromreže Srbije, the Serbian state-owned power system, and the European Power Exchange (EPEX SPOT SE) ...
Executive Summary On February 5th, 2016, Law N° 20,897 was published in the Official Gazette incorporating 3 new paragraphs into article 34 bis of the Electric Power Services General Law (“LGSE”). By virtue of this modification, article 34 bis of the LGSE, widens its protection to any developer of non conventional renewable energy projects (“NCRE”). This article was originally intended exclusively for electric concessionaires ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
The High Court has delivered judgment in the case of Minch v The Commissioner of Environmental Information (CEI) (16 February 2016) concerning the scope of access to environmental information ...
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 ...
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 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 ...
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”) ...
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 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 ...
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 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 ...
Entities that file disclosures with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) should be aware of recent actions by regulators and shareholders questioning the sufficiency of opinion statements made in environmental-related disclosures. Most recently, on March 31, 2016, the SEC announced a settlement with Navistar International Corp ...
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 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 ...
Responding to a Supreme Court mandate, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA” or “the Agency”) yesterday published a final supplemental finding that it is necessary and appropriate to regulate hazardous air pollutants emitted from coal- and oil-fired power plants under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act. 81 Fed. Reg. 24,420.Read the full alert ...
