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In re TPC Group Inc: Delaware Bankruptcy Court Determines that Issuance of Priming Senior Notes is Not Prohibited Absent Express Anti-Subordination Provision
Following a July 6, 2022 memorandum opinion from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, lenders and noteholders seeking to preserve the priority of their liens must make any desired subordination protections explicit in their security documents...
Environmental Essentials: Texas Air Permitting Round-Up
Bracewell Partner Whit Swift reviews the recent activity on three separate air permitting topics and how each development could impact members of the regulated community: EPA Orders objecting to Texas Title V permits; the TCEQ Commissioners’ evaluation of requests for...
FERC Proposes Overhaul of Interconnection Procedures
On June 16, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Generator Interconnection Reform NOPR”) seeking comments on proposed reforms to FERC’s pro forma interconnection procedures found in transmission providers’ Open Access Transmission...
CFTC 2022: A New Commission, A New Agenda, Same Aggressive Enforcement
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “Commission” or “CFTC”) experienced a year of transition on both the enforcement and regulatory fronts during its Fiscal Year 2021, which runs from October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021 (“FY 2021”). The Division...
Solar, Hydrogen and Storage: A Heady Mix for the Middle East
The Middle East’s oil and gas has put the region at the heart of the energy sector the last 100 years. These resources, plus plentiful sunshine, will see it continue to play a major role into the energy transition —...
Litigation and Enforcement Impact of the SEC's Proposed Rules on Climate-Related Disclosure
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Proposed Rules on Climate-Related Disclosure, released March 21, 2022, represent a significant change in public company disclosure requirements and, if adopted, will have far-reaching effects not only on all public companies but also on those...
Knock-for-Knock Indemnities: Risk Allocation in Offshore Energy Contracts
What are knock-for-knock indemnities? A knock-for-knock clause is a reciprocal agreement to apportion liability for certain losses (usually, death or injury to personnel and damage to property) between contracting parties, supported by mutual indemnities. A knock-for-knock regime replaces the fault-based...
FERC Issues Proposal to Overhaul Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation
On April 21, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) issued a much-anticipated Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) proposing changes to its transmission planning and cost allocation policies that are intended to promote the more efficient and cost-effective...
CCS and the Role of Project Finance
The UN Climate Change Conference in 2021, known as “COP26”, highlighted the scale of global carbon emissions and the speed with which they must be addressed in order to meet net zero targets by 2050. Carbon capture and storage (“...
Corporate Governance Considerations Under the SEC's Proposed Climate Disclosure Rules
As we have noted previously , the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently proposed rules governing climate-related disclosures, if adopted as proposed, would represent a sea change to the existing public-company disclosure regime. We focus here on the corporate-governance aspects...
Hurdles Ahead for the SEC's New Climate Disclosure Proposal
On March 21, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its much-anticipated proposed rule on climate-related disclosure and accounting, “Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors.” The scope and obligations of the 140-page proposal are gradually becoming clearer—and...
Attestation: Practical Reflections on What the SEC Climate Proposal Will Require
Among the many changes set forth in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed rules governing climate-related disclosures are the attestation requirements 1 covering registrants’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions disclosures. This article provides a general overview of these attestation requirements...
Summary Outline of SEC's Proposed Rule on Climate-Related Disclosure and Accounting
The SEC’s proposed rule on climate-related risks includes amendments to both the financial reporting requirements (Reg S-X) and the narrative disclosure requirements (Reg S-K). The proposal interlinks the new requirements, drawing aspects of the required narrative disclosures into the financial...
Merchant Risk and the Energy Transition: Tensions in the Capital
Debt vs. Equity As part of the series of articles on the expansion of merchant risk in the traditional project finance market and its interplay with the energy transition, this article will explore the tensions between equity and debt providers...
The SEC's Proposed Rules on Climate-Related Disclosures – What to Do Now: A Guide for In-House Counsel Facing the Proposed Rules
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently proposed rules governing climate-related disclosures, if adopted as proposed, would represent a sea change to the existing public-company disclosure regime. The rules would require that public companies include the following, among other disclosures...