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Inflation Reduction Act
BP Initial Decision Adopts FERC Staff's Positions
Seven years after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC" or the "Commission") first opened an investigation into the trading practices of BP America Inc. and certain of its affiliates (collectively "BP"), on August, 13, 2015, Administrative Law Judge Carmen Cintron...
FERC Fines Columbia Gas $350,000 for Violating Auction Rules
On July 30, 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a stipulation and consent agreement between the FERC Office of Enforcement and Columbia Gas Transmission LLC (Columbia Gas) for violations of Section 4 of Columbia Gas's tariff governing auctions...
FTC Narrows Scope of HSR Reporting Exemption for Certain Acquisitions
On July 20, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released revisions to its interpretation of the rule, 16 C.F.R. §802.5, that exempts certain acquisitions of "investment rental property assets" from reportability under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act. The HSR Act requires...
Decision on Fate of BLM's Hydraulic Fracturing Rule Expected September 2015
The Bureau of Land Management's ("BLM's") Hydraulic Fracturing Rule has been stayed until at least September 2015. BLM finalized the rule on March 20, 2015 for application on federal and Indian lands, three years after its initial proposal. However, on...
CFTC v. Kraft Foods: What is Market Manipulation?
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is engaged in its first court battle interpreting its new anti-manipulation authority under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) as amended by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank): CFTC...
Scope of Trial De Novo Debated in Barclays Electricity Manipulation Case
After almost eight years since the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) commenced its investigation against Barclays Bank PLC (Barclays) and four of its traders, Scott Connelly, Daniel Brin, Karen Levine and Ryan Smith, for allegedly manipulating the California electricity markets...
FERC Issues Two Oil Pipeline Audits
On June 17, 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) Division of Audits and Accounting, Office of Enforcement (DAA), issued two audit reports involving oil pipelines, the Colonial Pipeline Company Docket No. FA14-4 and Enterprise Products Partners, L.P., Docket No...
FERC Accepts PJM Capacity Performance Proposal
On June 9, 2015, FERC issued an order accepting PJM's proposal to modify its forward capacity market, the Reliability Pricing Model ("RPM"), to establish a new capacity product, the Capacity Performance Resource. PJM's proposal is designed to tighten the performance...
A permit system may finally arrive for the Migratory Bird Treaty Act - New Opportunities and Responsibilities
For years, Federal Courts have held that individuals can be held criminally liable under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) for the death of birds regardless of whether they intended to harm them. While several courts have recently called into...
Federal District Court Denies Barclays Motion to Dismiss FERC Petition Which Alleges Manipulation and Assesses Significant Penalties
For the past two years we have been tracking and reporting on an enforcement proceeding brought by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") against Barclays Bank PLC ("Barclays"), Daniel Brin, Scott Connelly, Karen Levine, and Ryan Smith (collectively, the "Traders"...
Mexico’s National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) Issues Round One’s Third Bid For Onshore Fields
Mexico’s National Hydrocarbon Commission ( Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos ) (“CNH”) announced on May 11 the terms for the third bid of Round One. Unlike the two earlier bids which covered 19 shallow water areas, the third bid covers 26...
Mexico's National Hydrocarbons Commission Issues Round One's Third Bid For Onshore Fields
Mexico's National Hydrocarbon Commission ( Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos ) ("CNH") announced on May 11 the terms for the third bid of Round One. Unlike the two earlier bids which covered 19 shallow water areas, the third bid covers 26...
Egypt: floating regasification to solve gas shortages
Facing shortages in its domestic gas supplies, the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), Egypt's state-owned gas company, has opted to install floating regasification facilities in the Ain Sokhna port and received its first LNG cargo in April 2015. This...
Progress Report: Shale Play in Algeria
Legal basis The 2013 amendments to Algeria's 2005 Hydrocarbon Law (the " Law ") provided a legislative framework for the exploration and production of unconventional hydrocarbons. In addition to wider changes to the Law designed to revive foreign investment in...
Risk Analysis: Libya's Oil and Gas Market
Libya is reputed to hold the ninth largest proven oil reserves in the world (approximately 38% of Africa's total proven crude reserves) [1] making it a key player in the global energy market. Since 2011 however, the country and its...