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Inflation Reduction Act
DOJ Criminal Division Publishes Corporate Compliance Program Guidance Document
In case you missed it, on April 30, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Criminal Division released a guidance document titled Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (Guide). This release serves as an update to a prior version released in 2017...
Under Pressure: Pricing in the Middle East Construction Market
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...
FERC, Dominion Settlement Highlights Three Rules of Thumb: Stakeholder Disputes Highlight Compliance Risks; Change is a Compliance Moment; and Never Pursue Make-Whole Payments
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)...
Natural Gas Marketer Settles Royalty Fraud with Department of Justice
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...
The Evolving Market for Acreage Dedications
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...
The Crypto Paradox: Code is Law and Consensus Rules
As the world contemplates the future of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts – including whether and how to invest in them, to transact using them, and to regulate them – it will be important to recognize the significant implications of two...
Equivalent Project Relief in the Gulf
It’s been 3 weeks since I relocated from Bracewell’s London office to Dubai and I’ve been wearing down my shoe leather in the DIFC and beyond meeting old acquaintances and new contacts. Most of the time, discussions invariably focus on...
IGSP – the new kid on the block, writes Bracewell
MENA’s lightening speed renewables revolution must lead to generation-storage hybrid evolution The regional pipeline of renewable deals is getting bolder and achieving unprecedented scales: in 2019 alone Abu Dhabi is planning to roll outs its 2GW of PV solar IPP...
FERC Issues Transmission Notices of Inquiry Focused on Return on Equity and Transmission Incentives
On Thursday, March 21, 2019, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) issued two Notices of Inquiry (“NOIs”). One NOI focuses on FERC’s approach to determining the Return on Equity (“ROE”) for FERC jurisdictional electric transmission and cost-based wholesale...
FERC Revises Interlocking Directorate Reporting Requirements
A February 21, 2019 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) order updated certain FERC interlocking directorate requirements (“Order”). [1] More detailed background information on FERC’s interlocking directorate requirements is provided below, but in short, these requirements apply to the officers and...
Our Take on Auer – Agency Deference under Scrutiny
Two weeks remain before the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Kisor v. Wilkie , a likely landmark case for energy and infrastructure companies. When the Supreme Court granted certiorari in December 2018, it took the case specifically to decide...
D.C. Circuit Overturns USACE Permit for Transmission Line
On March 1, 2019, the D.C. Circuit issued its opinion in National Parks Conservation Association v. Semonite, No. 18-5179, finding that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and misinterpreted the National Historic...
A Victim Of Its Own Success? Jordan Re-evaluates Its Power Generation Strategy
Jordan’s approach to the development of renewable energy generation infrastructure has long been regarded as a template for other governments in the region.
A Victim Of Its Own Success? Jordan Re-evaluates
Jordan’s approach to the development of renewable energy generation infrastructure has long been regarded as a template for other governments in the region. Through leveraging its favourable geography and climate for wind and solar generation an aggregate capacity of almost...
End User of Electricity Forward Contract Found Not To Be Forward Contract Merchant Under Bankruptcy Code Safe Harbor Provisions
On January 15 th , 2019, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio held that the end user of an electricity forward contact was not entitled to the benefits of the safe harbor provisions under Section 556...