Welcome to our sixth issue of Currents 2025. We are covering a multitude of issues in this edition, but we want to pass along a couple of announcements first. Again, thank you for reading! Amazon and Pennsylvania Join the...more
On January 20, President Trump issued several executive orders taking aim at former President Biden’s offshore oil and gas development bans, as well as overturning several other actions designed to boost climate protections....more
This client alert provides a brief overview of President Biden’s recent decision to expand the ban on offshore oil and gas leasing, outlining its background, scope, and potential impact on the energy industry. Key...more
With just days remaining in office, President Joe Biden has cast uncertainty over President-Elect Donald Trump's campaign promises of U.S. energy dominance. On Jan. 6, 2025, President Biden announced an executive action to...more
“While Republicans have taken unified control of the federal government, President-elect Donald Trump is going to lean heavily on an expansive use of executive power from his first day back in the Oval Office as he has...more
On January 6, President Biden announced an executive action affecting offshore drilling prior to the end of his term. Biden has issued a decree that will “permanently ban” new offshore oil and gas development in large...more
Republicans have swept the 2024 elections, returning Donald Trump to the White House as the 47th President and flipping the Senate to a Republican majority. Having narrowly maintained control of the House of Representatives,...more
On November 20, 2024, Angola enacted Presidential Decree 8/24 on Oil & Gas Incremental Production (“Incremental Production Decree”). This legal statute creates a new special legal and tax framework aimed to promote additional...more
On October 30 2024, the Labour government delivered their first Budget since 2010. The Budget introduced some key changes for the energy industry, including the Energy Profits Levy and Relief for payments made into a Carbon...more
The Energy Act 2023 (the “Act”) (in force as from 26 October 2023) amends model clauses contained in exploration and production licences to introduce requirements for consent to be obtained from the North Sea Transition...more
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took a strong, uncompromising pro-Hamas stance in the latter’s military conflict with Israel last week. In so doing, he torpedoed any potential in the near future for possible joint...more
The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) is the strongest market in the U.S. when it comes to using energy storage for renewable integration, grid optimization, and electrification and decentralization, with a 43.7...more
The United States Department of the Interior published the final well control rule on Aug. 22 from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). The rule clarifies blowout preventer (BOP) system regulations and...more
In a recent decision, the Federal Court has rejected an attempt by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to set aside ministerial approval of a significant offshore oil and gas project. The NGOs argued that the Minister...more
The Opportune 2023 Study has been conducted to independently calculate the OCS plugging and abandonment (P&A) liability, assess the risk such liability poses to the U.S. taxpayer, and perform a cost-benefit analysis of how...more
The Australian government has announced proposed reforms to Australia's offshore oil & gas regulation, which are aimed at achieving appropriate stewardship of assets by increasing government scrutiny over oil & gas...more
This is a brief report on new environmental law decisions, regulations and legislation. THE U.S. SUPREME COURT - Massachusetts Lobsterman’s Association v. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce - On March 22, 2021, the Supreme...more
Everyone noticed when President Trump issued an order earlier this month banning offshore oil and gas drilling in certain areas until 2032. It was obvious to everyone that this was a campaign stunt, intended to improve his...more
El pasado 23 de julio, el Ministerio de Minas y Energía (MinMinas o MME) publicó el Proyecto de Resolución por la cual se establecen los criterios técnicos para proyectos de exploración y explotación de hidrocarburos costa...more
COVID-19 presents the oil and gas sector with several novel safety considerations. Drilling rigs and production platforms are self-contained vessels in which workers routinely live and work in close contact...more
One breakout political star of the Coronavirus crisis has been New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo. His daily briefings have been direct and succinct. Cuomo often says that numbers will drive the policy. Unfortunately, in...more
The real estate investment trust (REIT) has been a preferred vehicle for investment in income producing real estate portfolios. The REIT provides investors with many federal income tax benefits associated with C-corporations,...more
Rekindling the Flame: Oil & Gas Securitizations - A number of recent structurings of investment-grade rated securitizations of oil and gas wells are sparking conversations in the U.S. upstream oil and gas industry about...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held that its two-question Doiron test for determining whether oilfield services contracts are maritime contracts also applies when evaluating the maritime-contract...more
The IMO and the Price of Gas or The Impact of the International Maritime Organisation’s Sulphur 2020 Limit for Marine Fuel Oil on the Price of Gas - The main bunker fuel for ships is High Sulphur Fuel Oil (HSFO, with...more