On Dec. 26, 2020, Mexico’s Ministry of Energy (SENER) published in the Federal Official Gazette (DOF), a resolution that establishes the goods for which import and export activities are subject
Continue Reading Amendments to Regulations for Import/Export of Hydrocarbons and Hydrocarbon Products in Mexico
Last month, I wrote about the “Environmental Justice for All Act,” a bill that proposes a finding that vulnerable populations are disproportionately burdened by environmental hazards. New Jersey is
Continue Reading New Jersey’s Environmental Justice Legislation: The Focus on Major Source Permit Applications Might Impact Property Values
On Feb. 19, 2020, the IRS released Notice 2020-12 and Revenue Procedure 2020-12 (together, the “Carbon Guidance”) which provide highly anticipated clarity on the Internal Revenue Code Section 45Q credit
On Feb. 19, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service released partial guidance on the implementation of section 45Q tax credits related to the capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide. The section 45Q tax credit was updated on Feb. 9, 2018, as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act (Pub. L. 115-123) to increase the amount of the tax credit per ton and to broaden the applicability to include “qualified carbon oxide.” The new IRS guidance is designed to assist in implementing the modified law.
The 2018 law removed the volume cap applicable to the tax credit, expanded the definition to include not just carbon dioxide but other carbon oxides such as methane, and raised the amount of the tax credit per ton. Carbon oxides captured and used for enhanced oil recovery can now receive a tax credit of up to $35 per ton, while carbon oxides deposited in secure geological storage can receive a tax credit of up to $50 per ton.
Continue Reading IRS Takes First Steps to Implement Carbon Capture Tax Credit
On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned a lower court decision that appeared to make the “rule of capture” inapplicable to oil and gas wells subjected to hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” Briggs v. Sw. Energy Production Co., No. 63 MAP 2018 (Pa. Jan. 22, 2020) (see majority opinion; see concurring and dissenting opinion). However, the court has left open whether a well owner whose hydraulic fracturing fluids or proppants migrate under a property line, and perhaps even a well owner whose fracture traces extend across that line, has committed a trespass. Those issues are remanded, and their resolution remains uncertain.
Oil and gas (or, for that matter, any fluids) migrate into a well bore from the surrounding rock. If the well drains a conventional reservoir, the hydrocarbons may have originated at the other end of the reservoir under a different property. A well on one property can drain hydrocarbons originally located under another. Recall the “I drink your milkshake” scene from There Will Be Blood (Paramount 2007).
Continue Reading Rule of Capture is Back for Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Wells . . . Sort Of
On Nov. 8, 2019, the Office of Fossil Energy (FE) of the Department of Energy (DOE) issued DOE/FE Order Nos. 4461 and 4462 (the Orders) authorizing GT client SpotX Energy,
Continue Reading LNG Export: DOE Authorizes a New Business Model Under Its Small-Scale Export Rule
On 2 November 2019, the UK government announced that it is ending its support for fracking in England. This follows a report from the UK’s Oil and Gas Authority
Continue Reading UK Government Ends Its Support for Fracking in England (At Least for Now)
On March 29, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency issued its final Oil & Natural Gas Exploration and Production Facilities New Owner Audit Program Agreement (Oil & Gas New Owner Audit
Continue Reading EPA Announces New Owner Audit Program Agreement for Oil & Natural Gas Exploration and Production Facilities
Part 2 of this series on the large number of environmental cases decided by the Pennsylvania appellate courts in 2018 discusses enforcement, the Oil and Gas Act, valuation, and a
Continue Reading Significant Environmental Cases in Pa. Courts During 2018 (Part 2)
On Jan. 14, 2019, the Colorado Supreme Court held in Martinez v. Colo. Oil & Gas Conservation Comm’n, that the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (Commission) properly denied
Continue Reading Martinez v. Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Update