On June 17, 2024, the States of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, and four oil and gas trade associations sued the Department of Interior (“DOI”) and its Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, State of Louisiana, et al. v. Haaland, et al., No. 2:2024-cv-00820, challenging BOEM’s new final rule entitled Risk Management and Financial Assurance for OCS Lease and Grant Obligations, 89 Fed. Reg. 31544 (Apr. 24, 2024) (the “Final Rule”).
Continue Reading Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi Band Together to Stop BOEM’s New $6.9B Financial Assurance Rule

On June 17, 2024, the IRS published Revenue Ruling 2024-14 as part of a package it says will raise an additional $50 billion dollars of income taxes over the next decade from “basis-shifting transactions.” In addition to the Revenue Ruling, the package includes three proposed regulations affecting basis adjustments. The Revenue Ruling seeks to curtail

On May 17, 2024, the Texas Supreme Court held that when a lease requires royalties to be paid on all gas sold or used off the premises, but the valuation point for said royalties is “at the well,” gas used off premises as fuel is deductible as a matter of law.
Continue Reading Texas Supreme Court Determines That Off-Lease Fuel is Deductible from Royalties Valued at the Well

The Louisiana Legislative 2024 Regular Session has officially come to a close and five Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) bills were passed.
Continue Reading Louisiana Caps Legislative Session with Landmark Carbon Capture Legislation

On May 23, 2024, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed into law the Community Air Monitoring Reliability Act (“the Act” or “CAMRA”). This Act sets standards for community air monitoring programs to ensure that the data collected from such programs provides the public accurate air quality information.
Continue Reading Louisiana Enacts Community Air Monitoring Reliability Act, Establishing Uniformity for Monitoring and Parameters for Data Use

On May 31, the Louisiana Legislature passed HB 492 expressly providing that a pipeline company has authority to expropriate property rights for pipelines transporting carbon dioxide for Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) projects. 
Continue Reading Transforming and Transporting: Louisiana Legislature Amends Law to Allow Pipeline Transporters Expropriation Authority for CCS Projects

On May 21, 2024, a group of 20 states, including Louisiana and Texas, filed an action in North Dakota district court challenging the Council on Environmental Quality’s (“CEQ”) finalized amendments to its National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) regulations, arguing that the rule seeks expanded environmental review without statutory authority.
Continue Reading Louisiana and Texas Challenge CEQ’s Finalized NEPA Amendments 

In a recent decision, the United States Supreme Court held that Section 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act requires a court to stay a proceeding pending arbitration and provides no discretion for the court to dismiss the action. In Smith v. Spizzirri,1 the Supreme Court settled a significant circuit split on the interpretation

In a recent decision, the United States Supreme Court held that Section 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act requires a court to stay a proceeding pending arbitration and provides no discretion for the court to dismiss the action. In Smith v. Spizzirri,1 the Supreme Court settled a significant circuit split on the interpretation

On May 18, 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a technical assistance document explaining the interplay of various established aspects of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (“Title VII”) and an employer’s use of artificial intelligence and other automated systems. This technical assistance is released as a follow-up to the EEOC’s