Aker BP begins production at Tyrving Oilfield amid legal battle between the government and Aker BP over approval
Aker BP, a Norwegian oil company, has begun production at its Tyrving off-shore oilfield. The Norwegian government is trying to overturn the court's ruling that the project approval was invalid due to the failure to evaluate the climate impact. The Oslo District Court in January ruled that the Norwegian energy ministry failed to assess fully the climate impact of the production and use of oil and natural gas when it approved three offshore projects including Tyrving and that the permits were invalid.
Italy Top Court Rejects Appeal to Stymie Shell, Eni Corruption Trial
Italy's Supreme Court threw out an appeal from Shell and four former Shell managers to stymie a trial on alleged corruption in Nigeria, which also sees Eni's chief on the bench, legal sources said on Wednesday.The long-running graft case revolves around the 2011 purchase by Eni and Shell of Nigeria's OPL-245 offshore oilfield for about $1.3 billion. The trial kicked off last month, with the next hearing set for June 20.The appeal was aimed at reversing the trial to the preliminary hearing stage due to what it said were procedural errors…
UK Court: Nigerians Cannot Pursue Shell Claim in England
The Court of Appeal in London ruled on Wednesday that two Nigerian communities cannot pursue Royal Dutch Shell in English courts over oil spills in Nigeria's Delta region. The split decision upheld a High Court ruling last year that was a setback to attempts to hold British multinationals liable at home for their subsidiaries' actions abroad. The court rejected the appeal from law firm Leigh Day on behalf of Nigeria's Bille and Ogale communities, and upheld a ruling…
Panoro wins court case
Panoro Energy ASA informs that a judgment has been granted in favour of the Company by the Borgarting Court of Appeal in Oslo (the "Court of Appeal"). Panoro was in a dispute with Euro-Latin Capital SA ("ELC"), an M&A advisory firm, in relation to a baseless claim by ELC for the payment of a success fee of up to USD 2.4 million on the sale of Panoro's assets in Brazil in 2014. The Court of Appeal has dismissed all of ELC's claims and ordered ELC to pay Panoro’s costs, which together with costs awarded earlier are in excess of NOK 2 million.
Northern Gateway Pipeline Won't Appeal Court Decision
Oil company Enbridge Inc's Northern Gateway pipeline project will not appeal a recent Canadian Federal Court of Appeal decision that reversed its approval pending consultations with aboriginal groups, it said on Tuesday. "We believe that meaningful consultation and collaboration, and not litigation, is the best path forward for everyone involved," Northern Gateway President John Carruthers said in a statement, adding that the project wanted the support of aboriginal groups.
U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Appeal in Shareholder Suit Against BP
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined a request from shareholders seeking to revive their class action lawsuit against BP claiming the British oil company misrepresented its safety procedures prior to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The court left in place a September 2015 ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that refused to certify the lawsuit filed by investors who bought shares in the 2-1/2 years before the spill. BP's share price plummeted after the disaster that has cost the company more than $55 billion.
Russia Appeals $50 bln International Damage Edict
Russia on Tuesday began its appeal in the Netherlands against an international arbitration order that Moscow pay $50 billion in damages to shareholders in the defunct Russian oil giant Yukos. Most of Yukos' assets were acquired by Russia's state-owned oil producer Rosneft after Yukos was declared bankrupt and its founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky was imprisoned. Once Russia's richest man, Khodorkovsky was accused of tax evasion and fraud after he fell foul of the Kremlin. He was released suddenly in December 2013.
Top Canada Court: Ecuador Villagers Can Sue Chevron in Ontario
Canada's top court ruled on Friday that a group of Ecuadorean villagers could pursue a multi-billion pollution lawsuit against Chevron Corp in the Canadian province of Ontario. Chevron is contesting a ruling by Ecuador's highest court, which said the firm had to pay $9.5 billion to clean up contamination at a site it once owned. The villagers are now going after Chevron assets for countries in Canada, Brazil and Argentina. "Canadian courts, like many others, have adopted a generous and liberal approach to the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments…
Europa Wins Appeal over Surrey Hills Drill Site
Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc, the AIM quoted oil and gas company with a combination of producing and exploration assets in Europe informed that the Planning Inspectorate has allowed Europa’s appeal against Surrey County Council’s decision not to grant permission to drill one exploratory borehole and undertake a short term test for hydrocarbons at the Holmwood prospect (‘Holmwood’) in the PEDL143 licence in the Weald Basin, Surrey. Europa holds a 40% interest in PEDL 143…
EMGS to Appeal Ruling On Patent Invalidity
As previously announced, Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (EMGS) has issued claims against Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) in the High Court of Justice, Patent Court, in London, UK, and in Norwegian courts on the basis that PGS used its Towed Streamer EM in the territory of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Norway in violation of one of EMGS' patents. On 13 February 2015, EMGS received the decision of the Oslo City Court where EMGS' patent is found to be invalid. EMGS has decided to appeal the decision.
DOI Issues FSEIS for Chukchi Sea Lease Sale
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) released a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) for Chukchi Sea Lease Sale 193, moving the DOI a step closer to resolving federal court concerns regarding the 2008 oil and gas leases offshore Alaska. The FSEIS updates the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) estimates of the full range of production levels from offshore oil fields that might be developed in the Chukchi Sea as well as the related potential environmental effects of the lease sale.
GDF Suez Loses Appeal on Database Access
A Paris court rejected an appeal by gas and power group GDF Suez against the French competition authority's order forcing it to give competitors access to its client databases. Following a complaint by energy vendor Direct Energie, who says GDF Suez uses it database of clients on regulated tariffs to market its non-regulated gas contracts, the authority ordered GDF Suez in September to provide access to its corporate client database by Nov. 3 and to its household database by Dec. 15.
Chilean Court Rejects Appeal Against Crow River Project
Chile's Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an application for an environmental organization against Crow River hydroelectric project, which plans to build in the south of the country with an initial investment of $ 733 million . In a unanimous ruling, the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court upheld an earlier judgment of the Court of Appeals of the Coyhaique region, in September last year dismissed an appeal against the Environmental Evaluation Service that area of the country.
