On July 3, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Army Corps”), and the Departments of Energy (“DOE”), Interior (“DOI”), Transportation (“DOT”),...more
7/14/2025
/ Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
CEQ ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Department of the Interior ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Energy Regulatory Commission ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
FERC ,
Government Agencies ,
Guidance Documents ,
Judicial Review ,
NEPA ,
Permits ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
USDA
On May 16, 2025, the Texas Supreme Court issued a decision ruling that, absent specific contractual language, surface owners retain ownership of the caverns created by salt mining operations. The issue of ownership of salt...more
6/13/2025
/ Appeals ,
Contract Disputes ,
Energy Storage ,
Mineral Rights ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Property Owners ,
Property Ownership ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
SCOTUS ,
Texas ,
TX Supreme Court
In the first major National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) case to reach the Supreme Court in almost two decades, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision on May 29, 2025, in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v....more
6/2/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Government Agencies ,
Infrastructure ,
Judicial Review ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Railroads ,
SCOTUS ,
Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v Eagle County Colorado ,
Statutory Interpretation
On May 22, 2025, the House passed budget reconciliation legislation referred to as “The One, Big, Beautiful Bill” (the “Bill”). As currently written, the Bill would reshape key aspects of federal energy policy by targeting...more
5/27/2025
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
FERC ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Natural Gas ,
NEPA ,
New Legislation ,
Oil & Gas ,
Permits ,
Pipelines ,
Regulatory Reform
On April 8 and 9, 2025, President Donald Trump issued five Presidential Actions (four Executive Orders and one Proclamation, collectively “Presidential Actions”) for the purposes of ensuring adequate and reliable energy...more
On April 8, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Protecting American Energy From State Overreach” (the “Executive Order”), which directs the United States Attorney General to identify and halt the...more
The below article is a summary of the Energy-related Executive Orders that have been issued this week by the Administration. Vinson & Elkins will provide a detailed substantive analysis of the Orders for clients in the coming...more
After little more than a week in office, there is still plenty of speculation, but priorities of the Trump 2.0 Administration are becoming more concrete. Issuance of three energy-focused Executive Orders (Unleashing American...more
1/30/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Alaska ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Department of the Interior ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
FERC ,
Infrastructure ,
NEPA ,
OMB ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (“FERC” or “Commission”) October 18, 2023 Open Meeting (the “October Open Meeting”) and October 27, 2023 issuance of rehearing of remand orders for the Texas LNG Brownsville LLC and...more
On October 30, 2023, President Biden issued an Executive Order (“Order”) that drastically increased the U.S. government’s engagement with artificial intelligence (“AI”). The sweeping Order touches on everything from bias in...more
11/1/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Joe Biden ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Public Health
At the Open Meeting held on September 21, 2023, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) approved four of the six Natural Gas Act (“NGA”) certificate orders for interstate natural gas pipelines and...more
In Federal Energy Regulatory Commission v. Ultra Resources, Inc. (In re Ultra Petroleum Corp.),1 a panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (the “Fifth Circuit Panel”) provided valuable clarity regarding a 2004 decision in...more
3/31/2022
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Breach of Contract ,
Chapter 11 ,
Debtors ,
FERC ,
Natural Gas ,
Natural Gas Act ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Public Interest ,
Transportation Industry
On February 18, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued two important policy statements by a 3-2 vote related to the construction of natural gas facilities....more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued two important policy statements by a 3-2 vote on February 18, 2022 regarding the construction of natural gas facilities. The policy statements make numerous changes to...more
It is common for E&P companies in chapter 11 to seek to reject burdensome midstream contracts under Bankruptcy Code § 365. Rejection has not been permitted by bankruptcy courts where such agreements create enforceable...more
On June 22, 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) issued an order concluding that the Commission and the United States Bankruptcy Courts have concurrent jurisdiction to review and address the...more