Offshore Drilling
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of December 8, 2025
Offshore Drilling: DOI Releases Plan for 34 Offshore Lease Sales Over 5 Year Period⚡
On November 14, 2025, the Department of the Interior released a Secretary’s Order titled, “Unleashing American Offshore Energy.” This order directs the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to terminate the 2024–2029 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, which created 3 lease sales between 2024-2029. The newly proposed Order would include up to 34 separate lease sales, totaling over 1.27 billion acres, from 2026-2031. Twenty-one lease sales would take place off the coast of Alaska, 7 within the Gulf of Mexico, and 6 off […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of October 20, 2025
National Energy Policy: FERC Begins Process to Remove 53 Energy Regulations ⚡
On October 1, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced the end to 53 regulations which will sunset in 1 year after public comment. (Docket No. RM25-14-000). These regulations relate to natural gas data collection, public notices for pipelines, import/export applications, and other energy rules that FERC determined to be “outdated” based on currently enforced regulatory practice. This decision aligns with the April 2025 Executive Order on “Zero-Based Regulatory Budgeting to Unleash American Energy,” which instructs federal agencies to implement provisions to promote innovation in energy […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of September 1, 2025
Wastewater Disposal: Iron Cumberland Cited for Waste Disposal Violations by DEP ⚡
On August 12, 2025, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to Iron Cumberland, LLC, under 58 Pa.C.S. §3203 of the Oil and Gas Act, relating to two conventional gas wells in Greene County. According to the notice, the operator was disposing of produced fluid from the two wells at Coal Refuse Disposal Areas in violation of 25 Pa. Code §§ 78.54, 78.55(a), and 78.55(b). This section of Pennsylvania law require operators to manage residual waste in a manner that prevents pollution […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of March 24, 2025
Methane Emissions: Congress Votes to Eliminate November 2024 Waste Emissions Rule ⚡
On March 4, 2025, Congress presented to the President H.J.Res.35, which is a joint resolution which would eliminate the rule, “Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems: Procedures for Facilitating Compliance, Including Netting and Exemptions” (89 FR 91094). This final rule, which was promulgated through the Inflation Reduction Act, required the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to “impose and collect an annual charge on methane emissions that exceed waste emissions thresholds specified by Congress.” The House and Senate passed H.J.Res.35 on February 26, 2025, and […]
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 […]
