On March 30, 2020, Shell announced that it is pulling out of the Lake Charles liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) project. Just a few weeks ago, it was reported that Shell’s 50% share of the quantities from the 16.45 MTPA project...more
FOURTH QUARTER 2019 - - Congress closes the year by passing new sanctions against China over human rights concerns, while OFAC clarifies the scope of recent actions against Chinese shipping companies. - In the wake of...more
U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators are “laying the groundwork for a delay of a fresh round of tariffs set to kick in on Dec. 15” as the countries continue to work through how a Chinese promise to make huge ag purchases from...more
The U.S. and China have tentatively [maybe?] agreed that a first phase of a trade agreement “would roll back a portion of the tariffs placed on each other’s products, a significant step toward defusing tensions between the...more
Big Oil’s Climate Change Reckoning Finally Arrives in Court - "New York’s $1.6 billion lawsuit arose from a national effort to hold Big Oil responsible for global warming." Why this is important: The most important...more
This Breakthrough Lithium Extraction Technology Could Accelerate the Sustainable Energy Transition - "A breakthrough nanotechnology from cleantech start-up EnergyX promises to revolutionise the speed, cost and...more
Judge Delivers Major Setback to Trump Policy to Increase Coal Mining on Federal Land - "But the court ruling does say that the 2017 Trump administration policy, enacted by former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, to overturn...more
Qatar and ExxonMobil are teaming up on a $10 billion natural gas investment plan in Texas and America’s growing status as an LNG exporting power....more
The Wall Street Journal first reported yesterday that Amazon, fresh from a weekend leak suggesting that Northern Virginia was the HQ2 frontrunner, will choose two locations with an evenly split workforce for its next...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
New York has sued Exxon Mobile over its alleged failure to disclose to its shareholder the “expected risk of climate change to its business”—behavior that the state asserts amounts to a “’longstanding fraudulent scheme’ to...more
Is U.S. Shale as Productive as It's Cracked Up to Be? "When you look at the data, the question arises of whether E&Ps' well production systems are as efficient and productive as they like to think they are." Why this is...more
As Storm Looms, 4th Circuit Reverses Ruling Against Dominion on Coal Ash Pollution at Chesapeake Site - "Water pollution from a coal ash landfill and settling ponds at a closed power plant in Chesapeake is not a violation of...more
In Cities v. Fossil Fuels, Exxon's Allies Want the Accusers Investigated - "Now two industry-friendly groups are turning the tables and asking the SEC to investigate the cities and counties for possible fraud." Why this...more
Bobby D. Fentress, et al, vs. Exxon Mobil Corporation, et al - "This is an Employee Retirement Income Security Act case alleging a breach of fiduciary duties in the management of a defined contribution plan. Defendants'...more
Ohio Supreme Court Joins Texas and Oklahoma in Holding the State Does Not Recognize a Separate Implied Covenant to Explore Further - "We conclude that Ohio does not recognize an 'implied covenant to explore further'...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
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick’s indefinite leave of absence just got a whole lot more definite with news late yesterday that, bowing to pressure from shareholders, Kalanick has resigned from his post altogether....more
Its recent debt sale was enough to score Italy’s Monte dei Paschi a government bailout, one of the first since the 2008 crisis and a test case for the ECB’s new bank bailout rules....more