Energy Legal Blog

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) recently released its much anticipated Barnett Shale Formation Area Monitoring Projects survey.  The survey arrives amidst increasing press coverage of the opportunities and challenges of energy development in the nation’s shale regions.  Conducted over three months in the latter part of 2009, the survey focuses on characterizing air emissions associated with natural gas and oil production in the Barnett Shale.  Out of a total of 94 monitoring sites spread over 5,000 square miles and six counties, benzene levels at two sites were determined to exceed TCEQ’s short-term health-based comparison value, and at another 19 sites, TCEQ expressed concern about long-term cumulative exposure. (more…)

On February 2, 2010, the SEC issued the written interpretive release that it approved last week to guide how public companies should evaluate the impacts of climate change in their communications with shareholders. As companies in the energy industry should note, the guidance does not change the existing principles of corporate disclosure, founded on an assessment of materiality and likelihood. That said, the structure and perspective of the guidance suggest that the SEC expects to see greater attention being given to the evaluation and disclosure of risks and opportunities arising from climate change. (more…)

At a recent energy industry forum, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar left few clues as to what the Administration would decide regarding the Department’s Five-Year Leasing Program for 2007-2012 and the draft  2010-2015 plan proposed by the outgoing Bush Administration that would greatly expand offshore leasing for oil and gas exploration and production. As Salazar put it, “We’ll try to bring all those together in the next – very soon.” (more…)

On January 27, by a vote of three to two, the SEC adopted new interpretive guidance on how public companies should evaluate the impacts of climate change in their communications with shareholders.  Such guidance had long been sought by certain pension funds, shareholder advocacy groups and states, who were unsatisfied with the varied nature of corporate disclosure concerning climate change.  While a copy of the guidance has not yet been made available, the Commissioners discussed the guidance at length.

The SEC identified four topics to be evaluated and, as appropriate, discussed in disclosures:

• The impact of existing as well as pending climate-change legislation and regulation.
• The impact of international accords and treaties on climate change or greenhouse gas emissions.
• The actual and potential indirect consequences of climate change regulation or business trends (e.g., reduced demand for carbon-intensive products).
• The actual and potential impacts of the physical effects of climate change. (more…)

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“Commission”) issued on January 21, 2010 a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) in Docket No. RM09-16 that would permit a new class of transactions to proceed without the need for a Federal Power Act Section 203 order.  Comments on the proposal are solicited and will be due 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.  (more…)

PR News announced that Bracewell & Giuliani’s Energy Legal Blog will be recognized as the best “Legal PR Blog” at its annual Corporate Social Responsibility & Legal Awards Luncheon on February 24, 2010 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. This award recognizes an outstanding and influential law-related weblog or online journal written by a representative of the organization with the goal of espousing the brand or a certain message and written with flair and personality.

“Managing a crisis and working with legal counsel are two areas of communication that will always be a part of a PR professional’s responsibilities,” notes Diane Schwartz, vice president of PR News. “The Legal PR Awards shines a light both on how law firms are communicating to their stakeholders and to how the PR industry is in the driver’s seat when a crisis hits.”

More information on the award program and this year’s winners is available at http://www.prnewsonline.com/awards/csr2009_event-finalists.html.