Oil & Gas
Oil Majors Face Lawsuits on Climate Change Issues
News
The plaintiffs hold the fossil fuel companies accountable for rising sea levels, changing landscapes, higher global temperatures and increased risk of storms and droughts, Zacks reports.
Litigating Climate Change: An Overview of Suits Against the Oil and Gas Industry
Event, Oct. 18, 2017, 1 p.m. EDT
The Institute for Energy Law will present a webinar discussing the various climate change-based lawsuits and current trends in climate change litigation.
Energy Contract Lawsuits Expected to Jump in Harvey’s Wake
News
Lawyers expect a spate of force majeure contract lawsuits after Hurricane Harvey tore through Southeast Texas and parts of Louisiana last month, paralyzing a fifth of U.S. fuel output and pushing some oil production offline, Reuters reports.
Trump Administration Working Toward Renewed Drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
News
The Trump administration is quietly moving to allow energy exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for the first time in more than 30 years, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post, with a draft rule that would lay the groundwork for drilling.
Despite EPA’s Insistence, Clean Power Plan Remains ‘The Law Of The Land,’ Democratic State Officials Insist
News
The battle over the Clean Power Plan has intensified as Democratic state officials are publicly locking horns with the U.S. EPA over the legal advice that he has given to states that oppose the Obama-era carbon-cutting plan, reports Forbes.
Liability in the Oil and Gas Fields: The Gap Between Your Company and Its Employees
Insight
Marcy Rothman of Kane Russell Coleman Logan explains that a new opinion from the Eastland Court of Appeals is highly relevant for petroleum owners, operators and drillers.
How Oil & Gas Technology Investments Help Executives Secure Project Payback
Webinar: Oct. 3, 2017, 9 a.m. CDT
The fall in oil prices has driven energy executives to focus on reducing production costs, according to Schneider Electric. However, are the benefits accrued from this price-influenced cost cutting only temporary or can they be made permanent and sustainable?
FERC is Back and Faces a Full Plate of Electricity Issues
Insight
With two new commissioners confirmed by the Senate and sworn in, FERC’s seven-month period without a quorum is over and it can get back to business, reports Covington & Burling on its Inside Energy & Environment blog.
Could State Subsidies for Renewable Energy Face Legal Challenges?
Insight
The latest developments in federal courts indicate that state subsidies for renewable energy, including renewable-energy portfolio standards and mandated procurement programs, are safe from challenges, at least for now, according to an O’Melveny & Myers article.
BLM Proposes Rescission of 2015 Hydraulic Fracturing Rule
News
The Bureau of Land Management has announced its recommendation that the hydraulic fracturing rule from 2015 entitled, “Oil and Gas; Hydraulic Fracturing on Federal and Indian Lands,” be rescinded, reports Fox Rothschild.
Quick Legal Appeal in the Works for Illinois Zero-Emissions Credit Ruling
News
Nuclear generators in other states also are seeking legislative and administrative support to help plants compete against cheaper gas and renewables, reports Platts.
Electrification of the Auto Industry Steps on the Gas
Insight
Several recent developments show momentum continuing to build toward the replacement of fossil fuels with electricity to power the cars of the future, reports Foley & Lardner.
Tillerson in Focus as Exxon Investigation Intensifies
News
Schneiderman’s office considers the nation’s chief diplomat a central figure in a case that pits the ambitious Democrat against a Texas energy giant and has divided attorneys general nationwide, reports JWN.
What Does Your Reservation Clause Mean?
Insight
Two Locke Lord lawyers authored a discussion about a court decision that emphasizes the importance of properly phrasing a reservation clause, as to avoid inadvertently granting an interest in a mineral estate.
Energy Department Seeks Input on Regulatory Reform
News
This is part of a government-wide initiative to overhaul the federal government’s regulatory regime, set in motion with an executive order signed by President Trump, reports K&L Gates.
EIA: Global Oil Oversupply Could Return in 2018
Insight
The U.S. Energy Information Administration lowered its crude-oil price forecast and raised its production outlook for 2018 in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, reports Oil & Gas Journal.
8th Circuit Makes It Easier For Plaintiffs to Take Fracking Contamination Claims to Trial
Podcast
A podcast on Kane Russell Coleman & Logan’s Energy Law Today discusses the Eighth Circuit’s recent ruling that makes it easier for plaintiffs to take fracing contamination claims to trial.
Suit for Bad Frac Job Requires a Certificate of Merit
Insight
Gray Reed & McGraw’s Energy & the Law Blog discusses a case that asked whether a court must dismiss an engineering defect lawsuit filed without a certificate of merit with prejudice or may dismiss without prejudice.
Webcast: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2017
Event, June 13
BP Global will present a webcast discussing data generated by the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, on Tuesday, June 13, 9:30-11 a.m. Eastern time.
A New Start for U.S. Offshore Oil, Gas Drilling?
Podcast
A podcast from the Center on Global Energy Policy discusses the latest executive order on offshore oil and gas drilling and what political and legal challenges the order will face.
