Insights

A Second Life for Batteries

The surge in the deployment of utility-scale and electric vehicle batteries requires a regulatory regime to govern what we do with all these batteries once no longer fit for their initial purpose. The existing regimes in the EU and UK...

Oil Spot Trading: Whose Terms Apply - The Incorporation of English Jurisdiction Clauses in Oral Agreements

Spot trading of oil is often done at speed and over the phone, with confirmatory written terms arriving after the sale. The practice has inherent legal risk – the terms of the deal may be uncertain and incomplete. In Addax...

Good Faith in English Contract Law

Summary

Under English law, there is no general doctrine of good faith. This means that there is no general obligation to act in good faith during the negotiation of commercial contracts. The exceptions to this rule include where (a) the contract contains an express duty of good faith; (b) there is a contractual discretion and a term of good faith may be implied; or (c) the agreement in question is a ‘relational’ contract giving rise to an implied term of good faith. The term that will be implied will depend on the express provision in question, and the contract as a whole.

LNG: Regions on the Rise

Europe (both Continental Europe and the UK) is generally characterised as a single large LNG import market, and one in which European importing countries collectively compete with the world’s top importing region of Asia. Whilst Europe’s importing nations do share...

PHMSA Informational Meeting on Upcoming Leak Detection Inspections

On January 27, 2022, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced a public informational meeting on February 17, 2022 regarding PHMSA’s plan for forthcoming audits of updated inspection and maintenance plans to eliminate and minimize leaks pursuant to...

A Balancing Act: Merchant Risk and the Energy Transition

One Cold Day in January Whilst most people will think of 2021 as being dominated by Covid and yet another year of the pandemic and lock-down restrictions, anybody interested in the energy markets will likely mark 2021 down as a...

Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector - looking back at 2021 and looking ahead in 2022

Two decades of collective breath holding was finally released with the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), making 2021 a notable year for Nigerian oil and gas. We give our snapshot of the year’s main events in Nigeria’s upstream...

HSR Notification Thresholds Increase for 2022

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has announced the annual revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (“HSR Act”) thresholds, which will become effective on February 23, 2022. The revised thresholds will apply to any merger or acquisition closing on or...

New UAE Commercial Companies Law: Summary of Key Changes

Background Federal Law No. 32 of 2021 on Commercial Companies (the New Companies Law ) has repealed and replaced Federal Law No. 2 of 2015 on Commercial Companies (the Repealed Companies Law ). The New Companies Law, which came into...

Decarbonising the LNG Industry: The Pressure is On

Click here to read this article in Joomag format Decarbonising Natural Gas and LNG Natural gas and liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) have long been hailed as one of the winners of the current energy transition when compared to other fossil...

Buyers and Sellers Should Plan for Close Scrutiny of North Sea Oil and Gas Deals

Over recent years, there has been an increase in M&A activity in the UK’s upstream oil and gas sector. The UK’s offshore industry has attracted this investment for reasons including the recent oil price recovery, a relatively lower risk profile...

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Selected Changes Impacting Public-Private Partnerships

On November 15, President Biden signed into law the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the “IIJA” or the “Act”) which cleared the House of Representatives in early November after months of delay. The new law (also known as...

EPA and Army Say they are Staying in the Comfort Zone with the Proposed Revision to the Definition of "Waters of the United States"

On November 18, 2021, EPA and the Department of the Army released their anticipated proposed revision to the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) – which phrase governs the geographic reach of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Public...

2021 Year-in-Review – U.S. State Privacy Legislation

The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly accelerated our reliance on digital services and platforms, which brings new challenges and expectations for data privacy. But, to date, there has been little movement towards all-encompassing federal privacy legislation. Therefore, the issue of consumer...

ESG Regulatory Landscape Creates Commercial Pitfalls

With Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues top of mind in almost every industry, including at the recently concluded COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, the burgeoning US regulatory landscape and accompanying litigation trends are giving rise to a variety...