Law – Page 11 – Oil & Gas 360

Vantage Drilling Awarded $622 Million in Petrobras Arbitration

July 2, 2018

Vantage Drilling International (OTCMKTS: VTGDF) announced today that it was successful in its previously disclosed arbitration with Petróleo Brasileiro S.A (NYSE: PBR). The Tribunal found that Petrobras America, Inc. (PAI) and Petrobras Venezuela Investments & Services, BV (PVIS), both subsidiaries of Petrobras, breached the Agreement for the Provision of Drilling Services for the Titanium Explorer dated February 4, 2009. The

Several stalled or presumed dead energy projects are back in the driver’s seat in 2017,

Hoeven’s Cross-Border Pipeline/Transmission Bill Does Away with the Presidential Permit

July 2, 2018

Bill would speed up cross-border energy import/export projects From Construction Dive John Hoeven, a Republican senator from North Dakota, introduced on June 12 a bill that would speed up U.S. energy infrastructure projects that cross the Canadian and Mexican borders, according to The Ripon Advance. The North American Energy Infrastructure Act would make the process of gaining approval for the construction,

Congress Resuscitates NOPEC Bill which Would Allow the U.S. Govt. to Sue OPEC Members for Collusion

June 28, 2018

Current federal law provides that foreign governments cannot be sued for failing to comply with U.S. federal antitrust laws; NOPEC seeks to change that The No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act (“NOPEC”) is quietly making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives–again. H.R.5904 – NOPEC’s latest incarnation – was introduced in May 2018 by Ohio Congressman Steve Chabot.

Supreme Court Hands Seismic Patent Owner a Win

June 28, 2018

WesternGeco sued ION in 2009 for patent infringement From National Law Review On June 22, 2018, the United States Supreme Court held that a patent owner can collect lost foreign profits for use of an infringing product outside the U.S. The case involved WesternGeco LLC’s suit against ION Geophysical Corporation for patent infringement. The patents relate to a system for

Justice Kennedy Announces Retirement from Supreme Court

June 27, 2018

From The Hill Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has announced he is retiring after more than 30 years on the court, kicking off what is sure to be a vicious confirmation battle. He will retire effective July 31. Kennedy, who turns 82 in July, is the court’s longest-serving member and second-oldest justice after its leading liberal, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is

Judge Throws Out Calif. Cities’ Climate Change Suits against Five Oil Producers

June 26, 2018

Northern California U.S. District Judge William Alsup has dismissed the climate change lawsuits filed against BP (NYSE: BP), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), and Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) by the cities of San Francisco and Oakland. The lawsuits were filed last September against the five big oil companies alleging that the carbon emissions from their fossil

Russia's May oil output hits 11-month low on dirty oil crisis - Oil & Gas 360

Canada’s Proposed Bill C-69 Would Require Energy Project Environmental Assessments to Take Climate Change into Account

May 31, 2018

Bill gives cabinet and environment minister final power to approve or reject a project regardless of the findings of an environment assessment In February 2018, Catherine McKenna, the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change, introduced Bill C-69. The bill may replace the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act of 2012 (CEAA 2012) with the Impact Assessment Act. McKenna claimed the new

Anadarko Shuts Down Colorado NatGas Gathering System

May 31, 2018

From The Denver Post The decision could mean well closures and job losses Anadarko Petroleum Corp., the largest energy driller in the state, is closing a natural gas gathering system in northern Colorado, citing safety considerations. The system — a network of pipelines known as Third Creek that carries natural gas from wells to processing facilities and then to market — serves

The U.S. Sanctions Venezuela

May 25, 2018

On May 21, 2018 the United States president signed an executive order prohibiting certain transactions with the government of Venezuela. The order restricts transactions involving debt owed to the Venezuelan government. According to law firm Akin Gump, the new prohibitions target three categories of transactions: The purchase of any debt owed to the government of Venezuela, including accounts receivable Any debt owed to the

U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has agreed to put off oil and gas leasing for a year on land that Native Americans consider sacred surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico. wo New Mexico counties remain among the top oil-producing counties in the U.S., according to new federal numbers.Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that Lea County was the No. 2 oil-producing county in January behind North Dakota’s McKenzie County - Oil & Gas 360

New Mexico Lease Revenues Break Record

May 16, 2018

From Ruidoso News/USA Today Lease sales generated $5,487,142 May 2018 oil and gas lease sales on state trust lands generated $5,487,142, bringing the Fiscal Year 2018 total to $102,222,238, New Mexico Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn announced this week. That figure eclipses the previous single-year record of $101,991,251 collected in FY2012. With one month and another lease sale still to come before

Total Halts $2 Billion Gas Project in Iran

May 16, 2018

From CNNMoney French oil giant Total is preparing to pull out of Iran to avoid risking US sanctions. The company said on Wednesday that it was unable to proceed with a $2 billion project to develop the country’s giant South Pars gas field. In a statement, Total (TOT) said it “will have to unwind all related operations” before November 4, unless it’s granted a

Powder River Basin: 10,000-Permit Drilling Battle

May 14, 2018

From the Casper Star Tribune In the coal-bed methane days, then-engineer Mark Watson would arrive at the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to find boxes stacked with drilling applications and a box of thank-you donuts from the operators. But the volume of applications for permits to drill over the last year — about 10,000 — has eclipsed even the coal-bed

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