CCUS: Understanding The Class VI Permitting Process
On July 17, 2024, Pennsylvania joined a growing number of states establishing a legal framework for the underground storage of carbon dioxide. Carbon capture and underground sequestration (“CCUS”) is promoted as a technology...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) recently announced that it will be taking a hard look at the Texas Railroad Commission’s (“RRC”) enforcement of injection well regulatory practices (or the lack thereof). The...more
Two individuals filed a Petition for Review (“Petition”) before the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board (“Board”) challenging an Underground Injection Control (“UIC”) Class II-D...more
In Plum Borough v. Zoning Hearing Board of the Borough of Plum,____ A.3d ____ , No. 1198 CD 2022 (Pa. Commw. Ct. Jan. 29, 2024), the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court vacated the grant of a special exception to Penneco...more
Recently, the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") signed a final rule granting the State of Louisiana's request for primary responsibility for the permitting, compliance, and enforcement of Class VI (deep...more
Iskandia Operating Inc. v. SWEPI, LP d/b/a Shell Western E & P reversed summary judgment for the defendant in a subsurface trespass claim involving injection of large amounts of produced water....more
In 2016, through a voter initiative called Measure Z, the people of Monterey County, California, enacted a ban on two features of oil and gas operations. One was a ban on injecting or impounding wastewater from operations....more
If carbon in the atmosphere is a problem, and that atmospheric carbon resulted from burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas, then a simple solution is to remove the carbon from the atmosphere and to put it back into the...more
Amid increasing attention on carbon management and energy supply diversification, three Colorado legislators introduced a bill late in the session that would transform Colorado’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC)...more
As carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects proliferate across America, hints of conflict around the relatively new and large-scale business endeavors are beginning to appear. On Tuesday, Oct. 18, international...more
Let’s assume you own a 93-acre farm in Tioga County. In 1986 your grandfather sold the oil and gas rights to his neighbor, John Mize. In the early 1990’s, Mr. Mize signed an oil and gas lease with XYZ Drilling. Several years...more
After significant lobbying by California Governor Gavin Newsom, the California Legislature passed a flurry of climate bills last week and approved nearly $54 billion in climate spending. Included in the suite of bills sent to...more
If you dispose of produced water you are no-doubt aware of the intensive earthquakes being observed across the Midland and Delaware Basins. In West Texas Earthquake Observations, Implications for the Oil and Gas Industry,...more
The Texas Supreme Court has granted petition for review of a 2019 decision in Dyer et al v. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality . At issue is whether rescission of a Railroad Commission no-harm letter before the TCEQ...more
Developing a carbon sequestration project requires multiple technical disciplines, excellent project management skills, and the ability to adapt the technical work processes to the unique aspects of the specific project....more
Regency Field Services LLC v. Swift Energy Operating LLC, draws one’s attention to the difficult analyses that should be made before bringing a subsurface trespass claim....more
Find out why underground natural gas storage can serve as a useful analog when developing large-scale carbon capture and sequestration projects....more
On March 17, 2021, U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) and U.S. Representatives Marc Veasey (D-Texas) and David McKinley (R-W.Va.) introduced the Storing CO2 And Lowering Emissions (SCALE) Act. ...more
Things may not always be what they seem when interpreting initial production (IP) rate data from unconventional wells....more
Stoel Rives’ Oil & Gas Team has been monitoring bills introduced by California legislators since the beginning of the 2019-2020 Legislative Session. Below is the latest update on a list of bills, summarized pursuant to the...more
Nearly two months ago, on November 19, 2019, the Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”) announced a moratorium on approvals of new oil extraction wells that use a high-pressure...more
ANNOUNCEMENTS - Air - Stakeholder Input Requested on Potential New Rules - Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Program Rules: Ohio EPA is requesting stakeholder input on potential new rules in the Ohio Administrative Code...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board (“EAB”) addressed in an August 8th Order challenges to an Underground Injection Control (“UIC”) Class II Permit (“Permit”) issued by the...more
The Center for Biological Diversity (“CBD”) sent a July 25th 60-day Notice of Intent to Sue (“Notice”) to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) alleging a violation of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). ...more
Analysts Say U.S. Coal Merger Not Anti-Competitive- "The proposed 'extraordinary' joint venture between U.S. coal majors Peabody Energy and Arch Coal will be structurally beneficial, rather than anti-competitive for U.S....more