pipelines
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of February 12, 2024
National Energy Policy: DOE Finalizes Efficiency Standards for Cooking Products ⚡
On January 29, 2024, pursuant to a Congressional directive, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a direct final rule updating energy efficiency standards for residential cooking products. The DOE stated that these updates will reduce household utility costs over a period of thirty years by $1.6 billion, while preserving “consumer-desired features” and improving appliance performance. The updates echo the joint recommendation of a variety of interested parties, including appliance manufacturing, energy efficiency, and consumer advocacy groups. DOE states that most stove models on the market today already […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of February 5, 2024
Oil and Gas Leasing: BOEM Publishes Final Procedures for Bid Adequacy in Lease Sales ⚡
On Monday, January 22, 2024, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published final revisions to the bid adequacy procedures for offshore oil and gas lease sales. The final procedures yielded no significant changes from the proposed revisions that were published and available for comment in the Federal Register in January 2023. BOEM states that these revisions will simplify bid adequacy determinations by eliminating steps in the existing process, including tract classification. This methodology update evaluates a tract’s fair market value and uses that to […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of January 8, 2024
Pipelines: Michigan Public Services Commission Approves Upgrades to Enbridge Energy LP’s Pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac ⚡
On December 1, 2023, the Michigan Public Services Commission (Commission) announced the approval of an application filed by Enbridge Energy LP to replace segments of their pipeline on the lakebed of the Straits of Mackinac with a single pipeline dug into a tunnel below the lakebed. The Commission noted that the project met a public need to provide customers with fuel by cost-effective and safe means and to preserve the lake’s ecology by avoiding other less safe transportation methods. The Commission also […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of December 25, 2023
State Regulation: Massachusetts Orders Gas Companies to Consider Non-gas Pipeline Alternatives ⚡
On December 6, 2023, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) issued Order 20-80 which, according to the DPU, will guide local gas distribution companies (LDCs) in the Commonwealth’s efforts to reach net zero GHG emissions by 2050. The Order emphasizes the use of “non-gas pipeline alternatives” such as “electrification, thermal networked systems, targeted energy efficiency and demand response, and behavior change and market transformation” by LCDs. Further, the Order requires LCDs seeking cost recovery for the promotion of natural gas to prove that non-gas pipeline alternatives “were […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of December 11, 2023
Climate Change: New Jersey Adopts Rule Requiring 100% of Light-Duty Vehicle Sales to be Zero-Emission Vehicles by 2035 ⚡
On November 21, 2023, the New Jersey Office of the Governor announced the next stages for Advanced Clean Cars II rule, requiring all “light-duty vehicle” manufacturers to incrementally increase sales of zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) beginning in 2027 to reach 100% of vehicle sales by 2035. The rule was proposed on August 21, 2023 by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and, according to the announcement, is now scheduled to be confirmed on December 18, 2023. The rule is modeled […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of December 4, 2023
Pipelines: FERC Authorizes Construction of the Southeast Energy Connector Project ⚡
On November 16, 2023, FERC issued an order authorizing the construction and operation of the Southeast Energy Connector Project (SECP). Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC, 185 FERC ¶ 61133, Docket No. CP22-501-000 (2023). The order authorizes the construction and operation of Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC (Transco)’s pipeline and associated compression facilities in Chilton and Coosa Counties, Alabama. Transco is a wholly owned subsidiary of Williams Gas Pipeline Company, LLC. According to the order by FERC, the SECP is designed to supply energy to Mississippi and […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of November 20, 2023
Community Impacts: US Supreme Court Denies Motion to Stay Upcoming Coastal Erosion Case Against BP ⚡
On Tuesday, November 7, 2023, the United State Supreme Court denied an application for stay brought before the Court by BP America Production, Hilcorp Energy, and Shell Oil. BP America Production Company, et al., Applicants v. Parish of Cameron, Louisiana, et al. (No. 23A364.) The underlying lawsuit was filed by the Parish of Cameron back in 2013, seeking damages for the alleged destruction of Louisiana’s coastlines and waters by the activities of the defendant oil and gas companies. More specifically, Plaintiffs seek […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of November 6, 2023
Oil & Gas Leasing: Alaska Challenges DOI’s Cancellation of Leases in Alaska National Wildlife Refuge ⚡
On October 18, 2023, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (ADIEA), a public corporation owned by the State of Alaska, sued DOI for cancelling its leases in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Alaska Indus. Dev. & Export Auth. v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, No. 1:23-cv-03126 (D.D.C. Oct. 18, 2023). The leases were initially suspended by the Department of the Interior (DOI) in 2021, and later cancelled on September 16, 2023. ADIEA seeks to overturn the DOI’s decision to cancel […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of September 18, 2023
Oil and Gas Leasing: DOI Cancels Oil and Gas Leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ⚡
On September 6, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced it is cancelling oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) that were originally issued in a 2021 lease sale. See “Notice of 2021 Coastal Plain Alaska Oil and Gas Lease Sale and Notice of Availability of the Detailed Statement of Sale, 85 Fed. Reg. 78,865 (Dec. 7, 2020).” The leases encompassed over 430,000 acres, divided into nine tracts. Pursuant to this announcement, the Bureau of Land Management […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of August 28, 2023
Crude Oil by Rail: The D.C. Appeals Court Halts Uinta Basin Railway Project Citing Defects in the Environmental Impact Statement Prepared by the Surface Transportation Board ⚡
On August 18, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (the “Court”) issued an order vacating a final exemption order granted by the Surface Transportation Board (the “Board”) for the proposed Uinta Basin Railway project (“Railway”). Eagle County, Colorado v. Surface Transporation Board, No: 22-1019 (D.C. Cir. 2023). The potential Railway’s stated purpose is to provide an alternative method for firms to transport crude oil produced in the […]
