A Focus on Energy: M&A Trends in the Energy Sector
A company in New York is attempting to secure leases to allow it to produce oil and gas and to use the leased land for a carbon dioxide injection program for long-term storage. Does this herald a new type of development that...more
Let’s assume you own 95 acres in Greene County, Pennsylvania. In 2019, you signed an oil and gas lease with ABC Exploration. During the negotiations, you agreed that only those post-production costs which actually...more
This is a familiar yet troubling question. Imagine you own 135 acres in Washington County. You have received offers from several oil and gas drillers but have not yet signed a lease. Your neighbor, however, did sign a lease...more
An oil and gas lease with a “free gas” clause may be a valuable tool for landowners to push back against drillers’ inaccurate attempts to value gas at the “wellhead”. Prior to the advent of Marcellus Shale drilling, "free...more
Expenses and Delays Continue for Mountain Valley Pipeline, Where Work has Halted Again - "The pipeline’s developers announced that construction now isn’t expected to concluded until late next year at a cost of $5.3 to $5.5...more
FERC Proposes to Modernize PURPA Regulations - "The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proposed to modernize its regulations governing small power producers and cogenerators under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies...more
PA Supreme Court Upholds Decision Allowing Drilling in All Districts Under a Local Zoning Ordinance as Long as They Meet Standards - "This case is one of several recent decisions in Commonwealth Court and the PA Supreme...more
WV Supreme Court Mulls Marcellus Shale Mass Litigation Case from Harrison, WV - "While the case centers on Harrison County, where the surface owners live and the Marcellus Shale operations are underway, the case could have...more
U.S. to Give Eight Nations Oil Waivers Under Iran Sanctions, Official Says - "The U.S. has agreed to let eight countries - including Japan, India and South Korea - keep buying Iranian oil after it reimposes sanctions on the...more
New York Sues Exxon Mobil, Saying It Deceived Shareholders on Climate Change - "The litigation, which follows more than three years of investigation, represents the most significant legal effort yet to establish that a...more
LyondellBasell Looking to Control Braskem; Could Help WV Cracker - "A deal could breathe life into the ethane cracker Braskem proposed for a site near Parkersburg, W.Va., roughly five years ago." Why this is important:...more
EPA Announces a New Rule. One Likely Effect: Less Science in Policymaking - "The Environmental Protection Agency announced a new regulation that would restrict the kinds of scientific studies the agency can use when it...more
The fight over the historical concept of the “Rule of Capture” as applied to gas rights in Pennsylvania continued recently as the appellees in the matter of Briggs v Southwestern Energy Prod. Co. recently requested a...more
Oil World Turns Upside Down as U.S. Sells Oil in Middle East - "Yet, in a trade that illustrates how the rise of the American shale industry is upending energy markets across the globe, the U.A.E. bought oil directly from...more
On November 30, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit issued an opinion in Eclipse Resources - Ohio, LLC v. Madzia, affirming the lower court’s grant of summary judgment to Eclipse Resources in all respects. ...more
An Obscure Statute Is Helping Trump Save U.S. Coal, Nuclear - "Rick Perry is using an authority granted to him as U.S. energy secretary to call on the independent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to change its rules...more
As part of a package of measures to kick-start the shale gas industry in the UK, the UK government issued a joint Written Statement by DECC and DCLG on 16 September 2015 containing a new shale gas and oil policy. This policy...more
Several of our previous posts have covered the trade secrets implications of laws that require disclosure of hydraulic fracturing fluid ingredients. As today’s method of hydraulic fracturing combined with horizontal drilling...more
On July 27, 2015, D.C. District Court Judge Richard J. Leon entered a strongly worded order in Solenex LLC v. Jewell, chastising the defendants, including the Department of the Interior and numerous other federal agencies,...more
Houston-based Latham & Watkins partner Robin Fredrickson talks about M&A trends in the energy sector....more
In This Report: - Top Issues and Considerations - Shale Industry Moves - Ohio Shale Infrastructure - Government - Excerpt from Shale Industry Moves: E&P – Overview for Ohio: • As...more
On Monday, New York’s highest court—the New York Court of Appeals—upheld local bans on shale gas drilling designed to eliminate hydraulic fracturing. The 5-2 decision clears the way for drilling opponents to target fracking...more
North American drilling and production activity is increasing service and technology demands and leading to shifts in capital markets and M&A transactions. North America continues to be one of the largest oil and gas...more