U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Modernizes its Oil and Gas Disclosure Requirements

On December 31, 2008, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted major revisions to its oil and gas disclosure requirements. The revisions modernized the Commission’s rules to reflect a number of important developments in the oil and gas industry in the 25 years since the previous disclosure requirements were adopted, including major technological progress, substantially increased price volatility, the growing importance of non-traditional sources of oil and gas (such as bitumen and oil shale) and significant internationalization of the industry. We have attached a short memorandum that highlights the most significant aspects of the new rules.

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