Offshore Drilling
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of April 22, 2024
Methane Emissions: DOT and PHMSA Announce Pipeline Repair Funding to Reduce Emissions ⚡
On April 3, 2024, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced that $392 million of funding will be dedicated to modernizing pipeline systems and infrastructure with the stated goal of preventing methane pollution emissions. The funding will be divided amongst 130 projects proposed by municipality and community owned utility companies across 26 states. The selected projects involve repairing or replacing almost 500 miles of pipelines, for what PHMSA has said will result in a reduction of methane pollution […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of February 26, 2024
Methane Emissions: DOE and EPA Announce Intent to Fund Methane Mitigation ⚡
On February 9, 2024, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced their intent to make Inflation Reduction Act funds available for mitigating methane, a “super pollutant.” The Methane Emissions Reduction Program will seek to target the oil and natural gas supply chain by funding projects to reduce emissions at existing wells and assets, while also developing new mitigation technologies and measuring systems to aid in identifying and fixing methane leaks. These projects will include collaboration between the oil and gas sector and DOE […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of November 27, 2023
Oil and Gas Leasing: Alaska Court Rules in Favor of Willow Project, Permitting ConocoPhillip to Explore and Develop on the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska ⚡
On November 9, 2023, the United States District Court for the District of Alaska upheld ConocoPhillips’s authorization to explore and develop oil on its leases in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic et al. v. Bureau of Land Management et al., No. 3:23-cv-00058-SLG (D. Alaska Nov. 9, 2023) (unpublished); see also U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, Bureau of Land Mgmt., Record of Decision for the […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of September 04, 2023
Landowner Royalties: Appeals Court Upholds 2016 Regulations on Oil and Gas Royalty Calculations for Federal and Tribal Lands ⚡
On August 25, 2023, the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals filed its decision in a case brought by the American Petroleum Institute (API) against the Federal Government with respect to a set of 2016 amendments affecting how royalties for oil and gas production on federal lands are calculated. American Petroleum Institute v. United States Department of Interior et al, No. 21-8076 (10th Cir.). The amendments at issue included the adoption of a default variation method, the elimination of certain cost […]
