Law and the Environment

President and Chief Executive Officer of Thompson & Knight Global Energy Services to Serve as Program Chair of World Petroleum Congress

Houston, Texas (June 25, 2008) – Houston’s Renato Bertani, president and chief executive officer of Thompson & Knight Global Energy Services, LLC, is serving as program chair for the upcoming World Petroleum Congress (WPC), the most influential meeting place of the global oil and gas industry. The WPC meets every three years and will be celebrating 75 years this June 29-July 3 in Madrid, Spain.

"This is the largest and most prestigious meeting of energy leaders from around the world, and we have now confirmed representatives from more than 52 countries to attend this year, including more than 120 ministers, CEOs, and other high level authorities who will address the current issues in the energy sector," says Bertani. "The petroleum industry is facing its biggest challenge since the first time oil was drilled in 1859. As professionals, we must come together and find, develop, and produce increasing volumes of oil and gas to ensure sustainable development of the world’s growing economy."

The official theme for the upcoming WPC is "A World in Transition: Delivering Energy for Sustainable Growth," reflecting the ongoing concerns of the global industry. Discussions will include the phenomenal rise in the demand for oil and gas, the current high prices, and how the industry will continue delivering reliable and affordable energy for sustainable economic growth.

Bertani is the former president of Petrobras America Inc. and held a number of senior-level positions during his 30-year career with the Brazilian-owned energy conglomerate. Launched in 2007, Thompson & Knight Global Energy Services offers a wide range of specialized services to the industry including risk assessment and mitigation evaluations, portfolio management, asset evaluation, and analysis of exploration and production opportunities around the world.

About Thompson & Knight Global Energy Services, LLC

Thompson & Knight Global Energy Services, LLC (TKGES), a subsidiary of Thompson & Knight LLP, offers a wide range of specialized services to the energy industry, including the identification, assessment, and capture of exploration and production investment opportunities around the world, asset evaluations, and portfolio optimization. TKGES serves clients throughout the energy industry and works closely with clients to assist in optimizing business operations in areas such as business development, portfolio management, risk assessment and risk mitigation, fiscal optimization, asset evaluation in connection with acquisitions or divestments, preparation of packages to raise debt or equity, business modeling with long-term projections of key performance indicators, and other related services. For more information, please visit www.tkges.com.

EPA Plans for Issuing Draft and Final Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting Rule

As mentioned in a prior post, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently working on a draft rule to establish a federal, nationwide, and economy-wide greenhouse gas emission rule.  EPA has announced a schedule for the process and the existing protocols it is considering.  The Agency appears determined to move forward with issuing a draft rule by September of this year. 

The schedule is as follows:

January 2008 to September 2008:  Establish EPA Work group (completed);

                                                   Develop draft rule and supporting analysis;

                                                   Conduct outreach; and

                                                   Conduct inter and intra-Agency review of the draft rule.

September 2008:                          Propose and publish draft rule.

October 2008 to June 2009:          Conduct public comment period and hearings;

                                                   Review comments;

                                                   Develop final rule and supporting analysis;

                                                   Conduct inter and intra-Agency review of the final rule.

June 2009:                                   Publish final rule.

One of the critical issues is establishing the protocols that must be used for different types of sources and industry sectors.  The EPA is looking to regulate all six greenhouse gases:  carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydroflourocarbons, perflourocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.  The Agency is looking at regulating both upstream sources--fossil fuel and chemical producers and importers, and downstream sources--direct emitters--large industrial emitters.

The threshold amount of emissions that will bring a facility or source into the reporting regime must be determined by EPA. The Agency has stated that it is reviewing thresholds of existing mandatory and voluntary reporting programs to determine the appropriate trigger or threshold above which reporting will be required.  EPA has further said, "The rule is not expected to affect smaller operations where emissions are difficult to measure or where there are a large number of small sources."

The frequency of reporting must also be addressed.  EPA is reviewing the frequency of reporting under other programs to determine the frequency (annual or quarterly) of greenhouse gas emission reporting under the developing rule.

Finally, the protocols for estimating emissions from various sources must be adopted by the Agency. EPA has the discretion to use existing methodologies under Section 821 of the Clean Air Act for electric generating facilities.  Other sources that are being considered include:  federal programs--such as Title IV ; state programs--such as the Climate Registry, California's system, and RGGI; corporate programs--such as the World Resources Institute/World Business Council for Sustainable Development; industry programs--such as the American Petroleum Institute, the CSI protocol (cement), and the International Aluminum Institute.

Companies who have not already begun to take measure of their greenhouse gas emissions can refer to the above-mentioned protocols and begin to evaluate the level of emissions from relevant facilities and sources at those facilities.  This will allow future planning as to the potential for their operations to be required to make federal reports once the reporting rule is issued.