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Africa Energy Update
The latest news on legal and regulatory developments in Africa's energy sector with perspectives from our offices in New York, Washington and London. Our second Africa energy update focuses on West Africa, home to major oil and gas reserves, power...
Gabon 2014 update: The Gabonese farm-out market "“ ripe for the picking
The Gabonese oil and gas industry shifted into "full steam ahead" mode in 2014. Confronted with over a decade of falling oil production, Gabon has decided to actively engage with the industry that still accounts for 80-90% of its total...
West Africa "“ a role for off-grid renewable energy?
West Africa is a land of opportunity, home to some of the richest oil and mineral resources in the world. The rush for the region's oil, gold, iron and other commodities has driven economic growth at a faster rate than...
Risks and Rewards: Doing Business in Africa and Anti-Bribery Laws
Understanding the risks associated with local corruption, and how to comply with anti-bribery laws such as the UK Bribery Act the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA"), has become a necessary aspect of doing business internationally. As companies look for...
Nigeria: what consents are now required in upstream M&A transactions?
The recent Moni Pulo decision of the Nigerian High Court [1] has changed the settled understanding of when Ministerial consent is required in Nigerian upstream M&A deals. This article considers the consequences of that court decision, the effects seen in...
The Bureau of Economic Analysis Reporting Requirements for Foreign Direct Investment: Still Time for Timely Filing
In September of 2014, new foreign investment reporting requirements from the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) became effective. The new regulations require the BEA to collect data on the acquisition or establishment of U.S. business enterprises by...
Around the Corner: How Drones Are Changing the Energy Industry
Drones "“ or, in Federal Aviation Administration parlance, Unmanned Aircraft Systems ("UAS") are proliferating everywhere. In the past few weeks an unmanned drone landed on the White House grounds and the federal government had to issue warnings not to fly...
SEC Secures Federal Judge Order Against Mayor Based on Control Person Liability
On January 28, 2015, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan entered a final judgment against Gary Burtka, the former mayor of Allen Park, Michigan, upholding the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s first effort to charge...
Monthly Futures Exchange Issuance Report - January 2015
January's Highlight The exchanges are starting off 2015 with a continued focus on investigating and penalizing violations of disruptive trading practices, as well as pre-arranged trading and block trading. These three categories represented a large majority of the exchanges' enforcement...
Greater Good Adds More Complexity for Contractors in the Middle East
On January 29, 2014, the Federal Acquisitions Regulations Council published the final rule amending the Combating Trafficking in Persons for U.S. government contracts (the "Anti-Human Trafficking Rule"). The Anti-Human Trafficking Rule implements several new compliance and reporting measures that enhance...
SEC Staff Revises Guidance on Shortened Debt Tender Offers, Expands Guidance to Cover Tender Offers for High-Yield Debt and Certain Exchange Offers
The staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission recently issued a no-action letter that substantially revises its long-standing guidance for shortened tender offers for non-convertible debt securities. The letter permits debt tender offers meeting certain conditions to be held open...
Recent Developments in Regulation of Oil and Gas NORM
Federal and state regulators are considering new rules applicable to naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) and technologically-enhanced NORM (TENORM) in oil and gas waste. We discuss some of the most recent and expected developments below. Pennsylvania PADEP TENORM Study On...
New HSR Thresholds for 2015
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 20, 2015. The revised thresholds will apply to any transaction closing on or after the...
Supreme Court Rules that Trademark Tacking is a Question for Juries
Today, the Supreme Court unanimously held in Hana Financial v. Hana Bank, 574 U.S. ___ (2015), that trademark tacking is a question for juries. Trademark tacking, or the ability to "tack" a new mark to an older mark in order...
White House: Oil & Gas Industry Must Cut Methane Emissions By 40-45%
On January 14, 2015, the White House announced that it would for the first time directly regulate methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. By choosing to regulate methane directly rather than regulating VOCs, EPA may be seeking to...