A broad new disclosure provision tucked into the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is poised to cause plenty of consternation for those in the energy industry.
Section 1504 of the Act requires the Securities and Exchange Commission to write rules mandating so-called “Resource Extraction Issuers” to track and disclose the details—in interactive data format—of any payments made to the U.S. federal government or a foreign government for the purpose of commercial development of oil, natural gas, or minerals.
Currently, disclosure of such data is made only on a voluntary basis by those companies adhering to the Extractive Industry Transparency ...