CFTC Division of Enforcement Releases First Public Enforcement Manual

Posted on: May 14, 2019 By: Michael Brooks, Josh Robichaud
On May 8, 2019, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) Division of Enforcement (DOE) published its first public Enforcement Manual (Manual). The CFTC's DOE is responsible for investigating and prosecuting alleged violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and Commission regulations. The Manual is intended as a general reference for DOE staff in carrying out these duties and to provide transparency and insight to the public on how the DOE conducts enforcement actions. In announcing its publication Enforcement Director James McDonald stated that the Manual, "is part of a broader...
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CFTC

FERC, Dominion Settlement Highlights Three Rules of Thumb: Stakeholder Disputes Highlight Compliance Risks; Change is a Compliance Moment; and Never Pursue Make-Whole Payments

Posted on: May 6, 2019 By: Michael Brooks, Josh Robichaud
On Friday May 3, 2019, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a settlement between FERC’s Office of Enforcement and Virginia Electric Power Company (Dominion) to resolve allegations of market manipulation related to Dominion’s receipt of lost opportunity cost (LOC) credits in the PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM) market from April 2010 to March 2011. Pursuant to the settlement, Dominion agreed to pay a civil penalty of $7 million, disgorgement of $7 million, and to be subject to ongoing compliance monitoring. This settlement highlights three FERC compliance themes: (1)...
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Power
Regional Energy Law

Under Pressure: Pricing in the Middle East Construction Market

Posted on: May 6, 2019 By: Tom Swarbrick
I’ve now been in Dubai for 9 weeks since relocating from Bracewell’s London office. In the construction industry here, there’s one thing to the forefront of everyone’s minds: price. That’s always been the way of course, in the UAE or any other jurisdiction. But the low oil price era and other pricing pressures mean that participants in the sector are feeling the squeeze like never before. One consultant said to me this week that there are always opportunities for good companies and good people. That’s true to an extent. However, with major construction players such as Balfour Beatty having...
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Regional Energy Law
Oil & Gas
Power
Construction

Natural Gas Marketer Settles Royalty Fraud with Department of Justice

Posted on: May 6, 2019 By: Robert Wagman, Matthew Nielsen
A recent settlement serves as a reminder that companies in the energy sector that do not directly do business with government agencies can still be subject to federal procurement enforcement laws with severe consequences. On May 1, 2019, the Department of Justice announced that it settled False Claims Act allegations with B. Charles Rogers Gas Ltd. (“BCR”), a natural gas marketer operating in the San Juan Basin area of New Mexico and Colorado, and three individuals who were BCR’s principals for $4.375 Million. Even though BCR did not have any government contracts, while operating as a gas...
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Government
White Collar Defense
Energy

The Evolving Market for Acreage Dedications

Posted on: May 1, 2019 By: Alan Rafte, Austin Lee
One of the more interesting developments in the oil and gas A&D market over the past couple of years has been the expanding variety of transactions between upstream and midstream companies involving acreage dedications. Acreage dedications are commitments from upstream operators or exploration and production companies in which all production from a given area is exclusively committed to a midstream company for the provision of midstream services or the midstream company’s purchase of such production. Acreage dedications are one of the tools midstream companies secure a customer base and a...
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Oil & Gas
Upstream Energy
Midstream
Energy
Finance

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