Speaking Energy

(Houston) – Akin Gump is pleased to announce it has released its “2019 Energy Year in Review,” which examines the current state of the global energy market and highlights the energy matters with which the firm was involved last year across the following areas:

Introduction

The worldwide demand for energy continues to grow at a substantial rate. The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2050, global energy demand will be between 30 to 40 percent higher than today, even on the assumption that the world becomes much more energy efficient¹. At present, the majority of the energy sources the world depends on release greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere.

Last month over 35,000 participants attended the Gastech 2019 Conference, the world’s largest gas and LNG conference, in Houston, Texas. Members of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP’s global energy and transactions team attended Gastech and wanted to share the following observations:

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP partner Dino Barajas will be moderating an energy and policy panel at the U.S. – Mexico Border Energy Forum XXIV, Energy and the Environment: Good Business, which takes place August 20–21, 2019. Dino would like to invite our Akin Gump friends and family to join us at the Westin Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas.

On June 19, 2017, the Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos (CNH) completed the Presentation and Opening of Bid Proposals for the First Tender of the Ronda Dos (“Round 2.1”), which was first announced on July 20, 2016. Round 2.1 attracted 36 bidders: 20 individual companies and 16 consortia, including Petroleos Mexicanos, DEA Deutsche Erdoel, Talos Energy, Noble Energy, Chevron, Shell, Total and ConocoPhillips.

On December 5, 2016, the Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos (“CNH”) conducted the Opening and Presentation of Bid Proposals Ceremony for the Ronda Uno, Fourth Tender (“Fourth Tender”). Simultaneously with the Fourth Tender, the CNH conducted the first ever partnership auction for Petróleos Mexicanos (“Pemex”). The unusual circumstance of Pemex being required to conduct a public auction administered by the CNH to select partners for upstream exploration and production came about thanks to the legal scheme introduced in the Mexican Energy Reform in 2014. This partner-selection process has been commonly referred to as a farmout (“Farmout”), even though the structure is really more of a sell down of Pemex interests in a given area. 

CNG – Cuba Natural Gas

With the recent shift in U.S. government policy regarding Cuba, is now the time for the energy industry, particularly liquefied natural gas (LNG) project developers, to consider Cuba?

(Houston) – Akin Gump is pleased to announce it has released its “2015 Energy Year in Review,” which examines the current state of the global energy market and highlights the energy matters with which the firm was involved last year in the following areas:

• M&A
• financial restructuring
• capital markets
• lending
• project development and project finance
• energy regulation, markets and enforcement
• energy litigation and international arbitration.