Expert Guides - Energy and Natural Resources

Australia, a new world player in large-scale battery storage?

Last year, Hive Legal wrote in this publication that 2017 would be an exciting year for innovation and reform in the Australian electricity sector

20/03/2018 Mitzi Gilligan, Hive Legal, Australia Andrew Brookes, Hive Legal, Australia Paul Jeffreys, Hive Legal, Australia

Hydrocarbon exploration licensing policy of India - a new open culture

India is one of the fastest growing major economies in the world and the third largest consumer of petroleum products after US and China

20/03/2018 Abhishek Saxena, Phoenix Legal, India

Palmer Wind Farm decision quashes objections and provides clarity to wind farm developers

The decision provides clear determinations on issues that are commonly raised by objectors to wind farm proposals

20/03/2018 James Lofting, HWL Ebsworth, Australia

Recent developments and current trends in energy and infrastructure project finance

2016 was a challenging year in the project finance market. Sluggish growth, low commodity prices, and the ongoing impact on commercial banks of the Basel reforms all worked to create a reluctant global market where global project finance volumes fell by over ten per cent compared to 2015

20/03/2018 John Dewar, Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy, United Kingdom

Africa’s ever-growing energy needs: opportunities and challenges

The African economy has been resilient in the recent past and despite the fall in the price of many commodities between 2014 and 2017 large companies in Africa cleared US$1.4 trillion in profits in 2016, and the region’s real output growth was 2.2% in 2016 and is projected to increase to 4.1% in...

20/03/2018 Shawn Davis, King & Wood Mallesons, United Arab Emirates Adijatu Kamara, King & Wood Mallesons, United Arab Emirates

Recent amendments to the share transfer and change of control transactions in Turkish electricity market

The Electricity Market Regulation Authority (“EMRA”) introduced several amendments to the Electricity Market Licensing Regulation1 (the “Regulation”) with the regulation published in the Official Gazette on 15 December 2017 (the “Amending Regulation”)

20/03/2018 Mesut Cakmak, Çakmak Avukatlik Ortakligi, Turkey Erdem Basgul, Çakmak Avukatlik Ortakligi, Turkey Nazli Basak Ayik, Çakmak Avukatlik Ortakligi, Turkey

Are we prepared for the near future?

Recently, I started watching the Norwegian TV show “Occupied”

20/03/2018 Mónica Carneiro Pacheco, CMS Rui Pena & Arnaut, Portugal

Final draft amending the RES Act approved by the Polish government

On 6 March 2018 the Polish government approved the final draft act amending the Renewable Energy Sources Act of 20 February 2015 (Journal of Laws of 2015, item 478, as amended; the RES Act), introducing a number of modifications to the auction mechanism (Amendment Act) and which contains a number of...

20/03/2018 Rafal Hajduk, Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka, Poland Grzegorz Filipowicz, Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka, Poland

The role of contract models in nuclear project risk management

Does the form of contract selected for use in a nuclear project affect the behaviour of participants in the project and the project’s performance against schedule and budget?

20/03/2018 Ahab Abdel-Aziz, Gowling WLG, Canada

The Canadian Pipeline Saga: Exploring the Limits of Cooperative Federalism

New energy infrastructure projects in Canada remain under attack, with project proponents facing increasing regulatory, political and financial risk

20/03/2018 Stephanie Stimpson, Torys, Canada Peter Danner, Torys, Canada

Addressing the impacts of Brazilian drought in hydropower generation

Brazil has 218 hydropower plants now operating, for a total capacity of 101,883MW, representing the source of 60% of the country’s energy

20/03/2018 Marcio Pereira, BMA – Barbosa Müssnich Aragão, Brazil Marina Maciel, BMA – Barbosa Müssnich Aragão, Brazil

The Brazilian Regulatory Framework for Exploration and Production of Oil & Gas

During the last few years Brazil has increased its dependency on non-renewable energy, being oil (together with its by-products) and natural gas the most significant sources used in the country, playing, therefore, an important role in the country’s energy matrix

20/03/2018 David L Meiler, Campos Mello Advogados, Brazil Bárbara N Bittencourt, Campos Mello Advogados, Brazil

The Brazilian power sector modernization project

The need for a deep restructuring in the current model of the Brazilian power sector has been discussed for a long time

20/03/2018 Rosilane Costa Barros, NBF|A, Brazil William Lins, NBF|A, Brazil

From the lungs of the planet: are we reducing our carbon footprint?

About 60% of the Amazon are located in Brazil, a country with a 7,491 Kilometers coastline (or roughly 4,654 Miles) and a population which exceeds 200 Million in need of an increasing level of quality of life, which will naturally require power in addition to the current c. 158Million kW power which...

20/03/2018 Roberto Di Cillo, Di Cillo Advogados, Brazil

Azerbaijan oil and gas: risk service agreements

In May 2017, the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan approving the Risk Service Agreement for the offshore block in the Caspian Sea including Umid field and Babak perspective (good) structure was promulgated

20/03/2018 Aykhan Asadov, BM Morrison Partners, Azerbaijan

New energy scenarios in Argentina, a time for transition and for opportunities

The sweeping mid-term elections won by the end of the third 2017 quarter by the current administration of President Macri gives a boost to the energy policy for opening the sector to energy multinationals

20/03/2018 Luis Alberto Erize, Abeledo Gottheil Abogados, Argentina

Growing pains – development issues in the Chinese LNG market

China’s LNG industry and its development in many ways acts as a snapshot of the energy space in China more broadly

03/07/2017 Nicholas Molan, Dechert, Hong Kong

Watershed: US Petroleum Pipelines under Trump

The US energy pipeline network is the largest in the world, including over 200,000 miles of pipeline moving crude oil, refined petroleum products, and natural gas liquids

21/03/2017 Charles F Caldwell, Caldwell Boudreaux Lefler, US

Challenges to US natural gas infrastructure development

Construction and operation of long line interstate pipelines has been regulated in the US since 1938 under the Natural Gas Act (NGA) originally by the Federal Power Commission (FPC) and since the 1977 enactment of the Department of Energy Organization Act, by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission...

21/03/2017 Lawrence G Acker, Van Ness Feldman, US

LNG to power projects: Potential opportunities on the rise

In the face of continuing deficits across the world in power generation capacity, we are seeing increasing consideration of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to power projects as a relatively rapid way of adding significant capacity to the grid

21/03/2017 Philip Thomson, Ashurst, United Kingdom David Wadham, Ashurst, United Arab Emirates

Project Bonds: Growing Liquidity for Energy and Infrastructure Finance

Faced with continued demand for large-scale, “mega project” investment, sponsors seeking the cheapest possible debt have mobilised increasingly diverse sources of capital through carefully structured financing packages

21/03/2017 John Dewar, Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy, United Kingdom Chris Puttock, Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy, United Kingdom

Captive power: a solution for uncertain closure and rehabilitation costs?

The “polluter pays” principle, an internationally entrenched principle underpinning environmental laws the world over, has forced mining companies to seek strategic and innovative solutions when approaching closure and rehabilitation costs

21/03/2017 Bruce Dickinson, Webber Wentzel, South Africa Alessandra Pardini, Webber Wentzel, South Africa Garyn Rapson, Webber Wentzel, South Africa Beatrix Spargo, Webber Wentzel, South Africa

Corporate PPAs: global trends and Irish opportunities

In general terms, a “corporate” power purchase agreement (or “PPA”) refers to a contractual arrangement whereby independent generators (typically renewable) and corporates that are large energy consumers, contract for the sale of power to that consumer (in Ireland, through their affiliated licensed...

21/03/2017 Garret Farrelly, Matheson, Ireland Conor Blennerhassett, Matheson, Ireland

Recent Developments in the Electricity Market in Greece

The electricity market in Greece is undergoing several structural changes

21/03/2017 Marina Kolia, Zepos & Yannopoulos, Greece

The Digitisation of the Energiewende

Germany’s energy industry has gone through enormous changes

21/03/2017 Matthias Lang, Bird & Bird, Germany

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