On December 16, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) announced that it had adopted final rules requiring resource extraction issuers to disclose payments to governments related to the commercial development of oil, natural gas or minerals (the Rules). The Rules implement Section 13(q) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which Congress enacted in 2010 as part of the Dodd-Frank Act.
The Rules are the Commission’s third attempt at implementing Section 13(q)’s mandate. In a recent legal update, “SEC adopts disclosure rules for resource extraction issuers,” Norton Rose Fulbright New York Office New York Office Partners Steven Suzzan and Mayling Blanco, Washington, DC office Partners Kevin Harnisch, Kim Caine and Jeffrey Cottle, and Houston Senior Counsel Todd Batson, discuss the final rule and its history, which companies are required to make disclosures, how and when the disclosures need to be made, and possible exemptions.
The Rules will become March 16, 2021.