Ben German
The Hill
8/22/2012
A divided Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved regulations Wednesday that will force oil and mining companies to disclose payments to foreign governments.
The 2-1 SEC vote for the rules caps a two-year, behind-the-scenes battle that pitted oil companies like Exxon against human-rights groups and their allies like George Soros and Bill Gates.
The rules, which were required under the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law, do not appear to contain several provisions that the oil industry sought, including exemptions from the SEC filing mandate if foreign governments prohibit the disclosure.
The law forces SEC-listed oil, natural gas and mining companies to reveal payments to governments related to projects in their countries, such as money for production licenses, taxes, royalties and other aspects of energy and mineral projects…
The article continues at The Hill.
Also at the site, Court strikes down major pollution rule.
A federal court has struck down an Environmental Protection Agency rule that forces cuts in soot- and smog-forming power plant emissions that cross state lines, dealing a major blow to the White House’s air quality agenda.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule that forces cuts from plants in 28 states in the eastern half of the country, finding that it exceeds EPA’s powers under the Clean Air Act…
Update: China’s African Influence Expanding Partnership signed that exchanges oil for arms, technology.
…Nigeria is but one country where Beijing is extending its influence into Africa, working with countries that not only are sources of oil and natural resources but those on bodies of water that will give China strategic port facilities for its projection of naval power in the near future.
Other countries where China is helping African countries with infrastructure development include Kenya, Ethiopia, Angola, Sudan, South Sudan, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Algeria, Libya, Liberia and Chad. Beijing is undertaking economic development with these countries in cooperation with the African Union…