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
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
Since the enactment of the Jones Act, courts have wrestled to define "seaman" and who is entitled to remedies under the Jones Act. The Jones Act grants a "seaman" a negligence cause of action against his employer and only a...more
In 2014, we wrote about efforts by the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) to require less traditional parties to fund the decommissioning of idle oil and gas wells and related...more
On May 2, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) issued the 2019 Well Control Rule (Rule), a long-awaited, revised (and final) well control and blowout preventer rule governing Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)...more
On March 29, the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska issued two separate rulings that reversed and set aside energy and environmental decisions made by the current administration, which had revoked decisions made...more
During his first year in Washington, President Trump made his mark on energy and environmental issues by issuing executive orders (EOs), proclamations, and presidential memoranda. Seeking to undo regulations enacted during...more
House Ways and Means Committee markup of H.R.1, the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.” Date: Monday, Nov. 6, Noon - Place: 1100 Longworth Bldg....more
Since October 2011, when the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) issued its first-ever Incidents of Non-Compliance (INCs) against offshore contractors (Halliburton and Transocean) in the wake of the...more
On April 28, 2017, the Trump administration issued an Executive Order entitled “Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy.” This EO calls for expanded oil and gas leasing in areas of the U.S. Outer Continental...more
In the course of the meeting held in September 2016 between President Putin and the Russian government, Mr Sergey Donskoy, the Minister for Natural Resources and the Environment, announced that it had been decided to impose a...more
The U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement announced final well control regulations for offshore drilling last week. The rules will purportedly make offshore drilling safer and...more
In 2006, the Fifth Circuit issued a landmark controversial opinion in Texaco Exploration & Production, Inc. v. AmClyde Engineered Products Co., 448 F.3d 760, 770 (5th Cir.) amended on reh’g, 453 F.3d 652 (5th Cir. 2006). The...more
In a major reversal of the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program announced by the Obama administration on January 28, 2015, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced yesterday that the U.S. government...more
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) has backed away from its proposed rulemaking regarding financial assurance requirements for the Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”). On August 19, 2014, BOEM published an Advance...more
The April 2015 edition of Pratt’s Energy Law Report features an article from ML Strategies’ Jordan Collins on the Department of the Interior’s Five Year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2017-2022....more
On January 27th, President Obama and Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewel announced that the Administration would take steps to open up portions of the United States Atlantic coastline for offshore drilling as part of the...more