Editors’ Note
A primary goal of Mayer Brown’s Global Energy Industry Review has been to publish for our clients and friends, brief (yet insightful) and timely articles about topics affecting the energy industry around the world. This edition of the Review, we believe, achieves that goal and demonstrates our firm’s worldwide reach.
Geopolitical, legal and regulatory developments continue to drive trends in the global energy industry today. In that respect, we address in this edition the following recent developments:
- The Mexican government’s wide-spanning energy reform initiatives, including a summary of the new law, new contractual frameworks and PEMEX’s likely role in energy reform in Mexico;
- Potential impacts on North Sea reserves and production as the oil industry begins to take into account the possibility of Scotland’s separation from the United Kingdom and its becoming an independent sovereign nation;
- The potential of Southeast Asia’s newest player concerning energy business opportunities—Myanmar—and the development of the power sector there; and
- Practical aspects of forfeiture mechanisms in contracts and under the Brazilian Civil Code regarding E&P joint operating agreements, and their enforceability under Brazilian law.
We also focus on a recent issue under US federal and state law as to whether the grant of an overriding royalty interest in a financing transaction is a conveyance of real property or an assignment of collateral as security for the financing—the resolution of this issue may well affect financing transactions in the Gulf of Mexico.
Finally, this edition of the Review contains an article summarizing recent comprehensive California legislation that will impact hydrocarbon development in shale formations located in that state.
We encourage you to please visit our Energy News & Publications page on our website for a complete list of our articles and energy updates. If you have any questions or comments on any of this edition’s articles, please contact us.