Nick Cunningham

Posts by Nick Cunningham

From the Lawyers: SEC Actions Dodd-Frank Disclosure Requirements for ‘Resource Extraction Issuers’

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On August 22nd, the SEC adopted Dodd-Frank mandated rules that will require certain oil and gas companies to disclose payments made to U.S. and/or foreign governments in the course of their commercial development of oil, gas and minerals projects. To date 20+ law firms have written alerts on the new rules and the clear consensus is summed up by Skadden’s warning that “although the deadline for the first Form SD is more than a year away, resource extraction issuers may have a significant amount of work to do in preparation.”

The headline numbers are these: 1,100 resource extraction issuers are expected to exceed a de minimis, project-based payment threshold of $100,000 and incur the obligation to spend an aggregate of $1 billion on initial compliance efforts. These efforts will culminate with an obligation to file payment disclosure with the SEC on a new Form SD for fiscal years ending after September 30, 2013. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 11, 2012 at 12:00 PM

Through Innovation and Investment, the U.S. Can Lead in Next-Generation Energy, Nuclear Fusion

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The U.S. innovation system has a rich history of developing transformational technologies that usher in new eras of economic growth. The ultimate success of all energy technologies – whether coal, natural gas, oil, hydropower, nuclear, solar, or wind – has depended upon a tradition of public support during their research and development stage.

Consistent R&D support allowed new technologies to move through the stages of innovation – from basic and applied research, to prototyping, demonstration, commercialization, until they are finally market competitive. This process often takes decades, so returns are uncertain and dispersed, meanwhile, costs are certain, immediate, and focused, – so the private sector underinvests in R&D. Since the private market is not designed to address these problems, there is a clear role for smart government policy. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 3, 2012 at 12:30 PM

Who Killed the Coal Plant?

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The coal industry is ramping up its campaign against President Obama and the EPA, criticizing the administration for attempting to regulate the industry to death. A $1 million ad buy from American Commitment, a conservative advocacy group, decries “Obama’s war on coal” and targets EPA’s recently finalized rule to limit toxic mercury pollutants from power plants, known as the “Utility MACT rule.” The rule will require power plants to install technology to limit toxic mercury emissions. The Senate could soon vote on a resolution that would kill the rule. The coal industry and other conservative groups claim the rule will force utilities to install expensive equipment, which will drive up the cost of energy and kill jobs. EPA’s proposal in March to begin regulating greenhouse gases on new power plants further enraged the industry.

Coal’s dominance in the electric power industry has begun a period of rapid decline. Data from the Energy Information Agency (EIA) shows that the share of electricity generation in March from coal was at its lowest monthly total since 1973. For decades, coal typically represented half of the nation’s electricity generation, but it dropped to only 34% for the month of March. The decline can be partially attributed to warm weather, causing low demand for electricity overall, but there is a reason that coal’s share fell much faster than other energy sources – and it’s not the EPA’s regulations. Keep reading →

 /  Published June 18, 2012 at 2:30 PM