On April 10, 2024, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a long-awaited final rule updating its venting and flaring requirements on federal and Indian leases, imposing new requirements to establish plans for gas takeaway...more
The answer depends on what part of “the oil business” you care about. The 86th Legislature produced a few, but not many, changes in laws affecting the business, (most going into effect on September 1). ...more
Trump Signs Orders to Speed Up Oil and Gas Pipeline Construction - "President Trump signed two executive orders that he says will speed up construction of pipelines and other projects to enhance the production and...more
The Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (“ASTSWMO”) has released a November 2017 report titled: Beneficial Use of Drill Cuttings, Produced Water and Fluids in the U.S. (“Supplemental...more
In draft rules issued last week, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) proposed to ban high-volume hydraulic fracturing (the practice known as fracking) for the extraction of oil and natural gas in the Delaware River...more
This is our second installment of Currents - our weekly energy news e-blast where we deliver the week's top energy news stories and our synopsis of why those stories are important from a legal perspective. - Appeals Court...more
As we discussed earlier, environmental activists have asked the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to update its oil and gas drilling waste disposal rules under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”). The...more
A regulatory framework for hydraulic fracturing, or fracing, currently does not exist in Florida. Actually, neither does fracing itself, but both of those things could change soon. The State Affairs Committee passed a...more
On October 26, 2015, Grant Township, Pennsylvania, filed a Motion for Reconsideration of Western District of Pennsylvania District Court Magistrate Judge Susan Baxter’s October 14, 2015, ruling invalidating several elements...more
Spills or improper disposal of oilfield produced water—which can be more than 10 times saltier than seawater and may also contain heavy metals and other chemicals—can turn even staunchly pro-oil and gas residents against...more
On Thursday, May 7, 2015, two environmental groups filed a lawsuit seeking an immediate halt to oil and gas wastewater injection at 2,500 wells across California. The suit, filed by the Sierra Club and the Center for...more
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP’s) rulemaking regarding surface activities for oil and gas wells, Environmental Protection Performance Standards at Oil and Gas Well Sites (Chapters 78 and 78a),...more
On Tuesday, April 7, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register for regulation of wastewater from unconventional oil and gas operations (“UOG”), which includes...more
The jury is still out on whether hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” causes earthquakes, but carriers whose policies afford coverage for quakes have recently been denying such claims, asserting that they are excluded because...more
New regulations setting standards for hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, in oil and gas wells drilled on federal lands were issued recently by the Obama administration through the U.S. Department of the...more
On Monday, November 24, the Colorado Oil & Gas Association (COGA) filed a lawsuit in the Broomfield District Court for declaratory judgment to invalidate that city’s temporary ban on hydraulic fracturing. The ban, known as...more
In This Issue: - First AIPN Model Contract for Unconventional Resource Operations - A Cautionary Tale: English Courts Further Depart from a Traditional Approach to Liquidated Damages in Unaoil v Leighton ...more
Following the Texas Railroad Commission’s recent proposal for additional rules related to disposal wells in “high-risk” seismic areas, on Monday, August 25, members of the Texas House Subcommittee on Seismic Activity heard...more
Following a unanimous vote of approval in both the House and Senate and signature of Governor Rick Perry, House Bill 2767 will go into effect in Texas on September 1, 2013....more
In This Issue: - Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company Goes on the Offensive - West Virginia Legislature Focuses on Energy Bills - New Rules Proposed for Drilling Wastes in Ohio - Pa. Shale Gas Production Doubled Between...more
Early last week, we covered the response of Ohio regulators to an alleged release of hydraulic fracturing waste into a Youngstown, Ohio area tributary by Hard Rock Excavating (Hard Rock), an affiliate of oil and gas player...more