Speaking Energy

2023 saw two megadeals in the oil & gas industry that have led to calls from environmental interest groups for the FTC to intervene despite a lack of obvious antitrust issues. Whether the FTC will sue to block the deals remains to be seen.

Policies and incentives supporting the energy transition, combined with strong oil & gas cashflows and growing concerns over energy security, have enhanced efforts to modernize the industry and invest in technologies that will accelerate decarbonization.

On October 23, 2023, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order that will permit Trailblazer Pipeline Company LLC (Trailblazer) to convert its approximately 400-mile-long natural gas pipeline system to carbon dioxide (CO₂) transportation. Trailblazer intends to use the pipeline, which originally entered service in the 1980s to bring natural gas from constrained Rocky Mountain supply basins in Wyoming across Colorado and into Nebraska, to transport CO₂from ethanol plants and other emissions sources in Nebraska and Colorado to Wyoming for permanent sequestration in geologic formations (the Trailblazer Conversion Project). FERC has no jurisdiction over the siting, construction, or operation of CO₂pipelines. However, Trailblazer required FERC’s authorization under section 7(b) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) before it could “abandon” natural gas service on its pipeline facilities. The order also authorized Rockies Express Pipeline LLC (Rockies Express or REX) under NGA section 7(c) to construct additional facilities and lease to Trailblazer existing capacity that will be used to continue service to Trailblazer’s natural gas transportation customers. Trailblazer also intends to contract for capacity on Tallgrass Interstate Gas Transmission, LLC (TIGT) to serve its firm customers. All three pipelines are operated by a subsidiary of Tallgrass Energy Partners.

Akin partners Matt Kapinos, Shariff Barakat and Sam Guthrie will be moderating panels and presenting at Infocast’s joint conferences CCS/Decarbonization Project Development, Finance & Investment and RNG & SAF Capital Markets that will explore current market perspectives, the latest developments, and what is on the horizon for carbon capture and renewable natural gas projects. The conference will take place July 24-26, 2023, in Houston, TX. Matt, Shariff and Sam would like to invite our Akin friends to receive a 15% discount to attend.

In March 2023, Indonesia’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Arifin Tasrif, announced the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation No. 2 of 2023 concerning Implementation of Carbon Capture and Storage, as well as Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage in Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (the “MEMR 2/2023”). Indonesia, which has geological formations well suited to the development of carbon capture and storage (“CCS”) as well as carbon capture, utilization and storage (“CCUS”) projects, has become one of the first countries in Southeast Asia to promulgate regulations to support the integration of CCS/CCUS projects within upstream exploration and production activities with the goal of helping to decarbonize the industry.

Earlier this year, our article “Singapore Green Energy Transition – Recent Developments” discussed some of the steps that Singapore has been taking to build a sustainable future and address climate change. In this update, we focus on two new developments in South Korea and Singapore, which showcase the region’s efforts to accelerate the green energy transition and reach our net-zero targets.

We are pleased to share a recording of our “Building the Energy Hubs of the Future” program, that recently took place in our Houston office, in partnership with the Port of Corpus Christi.

Building on Akin Gump’s previous coverage on Singapore’s efforts to advance its green transition initiative¹ and following on from our insights into the Asia Climate Summit 2022, this post provides updates on some of the key recent developments in Singapore’s energy transition landscape.