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With the rise of battery technologies in electric vehicles, electronics, utility-scale electrical energy storage and other industrial applications, there has been increased demand for lithium, cobalt, and other minerals.

On October 2, 2023, the Railroad Commission of Texas (“Commission”) announced proposed changes (“Proposed Rule”) to its rules regulating the management of oil and gas waste.

Vinson & Elkins partner Shay Kuperman and associate Sebastian Devora authored an article for Chambers 2023 Energy: Oil & Gas Guide covering recent trends and developments in the Permian, Eagle Ford and Haynesville basins.

On February 3, 2023, the California Secretary of State certified a referendum challenging Senate Bill 1137 (“SB 1137”), which institutes a 3,200-foot setback for new oil and gas operations and includes new requirements for operators of existing oil and gas production facilities.

On Friday, December 2, 2022, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to ban all oil and gas drilling within the city and to phase out existing extraction over the next 20 years.

On Sunday, August 7 the Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the Act) as part of the FY 2022 Budget Reconciliation bill.

On Wednesday, January 26, 2022, the Los Angeles City Council took a significant step towards banning new oil and gas extraction in Los Angeles, and phasing out production from existing wells. By unanimously voting to adopt a series of recommendations contained in a Budget and Finance Committee Report, the City Council has initiated a process that will likely culminate in the decommissioning of over 5,200 wells.

In the upcoming weeks, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) is expected to release a proposed rule that would greatly expand methane regulations for the oil and gas sector.

On June 30, 2021, President Biden signed into law a joint resolution of Congress repealing a Trump administration rule that removed methane as a pollutant regulated under the Clean Air Act in the oil and gas industry.

On April 29, 2021, the Senate passed a resolution (the “Resolution”) to disapprove a rule adopted by the Trump administration which lifted certain requirements that had been put in place by an Obama-era methane rule, also known as “Quad Oa.”