Ever since the announcement of the Tupi discovery in November
2007, the eyes of the international oil industry have been firmly
fixed on Brazil. This mega-field of 5 to 8 billion barrels of oil
opened up an entirely new petroleum province, dubbed the
"pre-salt" because its reserves are located beneath a
thick layer of salt offshore Brazil. The pre-salt is widely
expected to contain 50 to 100 billion barrels of oil, and promises
to transform Brazil into one of the world's leading petroleum
producing nations.
The Brazilian Government responded quickly to the Tupi discovery
by withdrawing a number of blocks in the pre-salt region from its
ninth licensing round which was held in December 2007. Shortly
afterwards, it announced a major review of Brazil's petroleum
licensing regime....
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On 23 April 2010, CESR published a consultation paper to amend its recommendations for the consistent implementation of the European Commission’s Regulation on Prospectuses no 809/2004 (CESR Recommendations) regarding mineral companies.
Turkey holds a strategic role in natural gas between the world’s second largest natural gas market, Continental Europe, and the substantial gas reserves of the Caspian Basin and the Middle East.
On July 20, 2010, new legislation was introduced in the Senate to provide investment tax credit ("ITC") to energy storage facilities. Senate Bill No. 3617, the Storage Technology of Renewable and Green Energy Act of 2010 (the "STORAGE 2010 Act"), would offer up to $1.5 billion in tax credits to storage projects that are connected to the U.S. electric grid.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued two orders on July 9, 2010, designating four monthly electricity contracts as Significant Price Discovery Contracts (SPDC) pursuant to section 2(h)(7) of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).
In the July edition of Energy and Clean Tech Connections, we’ve gathered recent information from a wide variety of sources in an effort to keep you abreast of what’s new in the world of clean energy.
In 2004, Vietnam passed the new Electricity Law that outlines the development of a competitive electricity market in 3 phases: in Phase 1, it is contemplated that a competitive power generation market would be established; Phase 2 envisions the development of a competitive electricity wholesale market, and Phase 3 involves development of a competitive electricity retail market.
In three orders published today in the Federal Register, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) designated the Mid-C Financial Peak (MDC) and Mid-C Financial Off-Peak (OMC) contracts traded on the IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (ICE) as "significant price discovery contracts" (SPDCs).
On June 25, 2010, the U.S. Treasury Department released additional guidance in the form of 25 frequently asked questions and answers (FAQs) with respect to the "beginning of construction" requirement for renewable energy projects that may be eligible for a cash grant in lieu of an investment tax credit under section 1603 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Recent memoranda of understanding (MOUs) between Canada and India should facilitate greater access for Canadian companies to investment and other opportunities in India’s mining sector.
