CITO Energy Group

07/27/2022

Recently, the announced a 25% Energy Profits Levy (UKWindfallTax) on energy producer profits. In a populist move, the resultant £5 billion tax revenue will be deployed to abate high energy prices for UK consumers. When I heard this news item on , I immediately thought of John Wayne’s famous words: Life is hard, but it’s even harder if you’re stupid.

https://www.citoenergy.law/blog/john-wayne-energy-illiteracy-uk-windfall-tax/

03/28/2022

I have an admission. Like most expats who have lived and worked in Former Soviet Republics (for me places like Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan), I did not think Putin would really invade the Ukraine.

I have an admission. Like most expats who have lived and worked in Former Soviet Republics (for me places like Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, and

03/09/2022

On January 27, 2022, Nova Scotia Power (NSP) set the solar sector a flurry with its announcement that it was, on application to the provincial Utilities and Review Board (URB), seeking to increase consumer rates 10% over the next three years and implement a new “system access charge” (SAC) for net-metering customers.

On January 27, 2022, Nova Scotia Power (NSP) set the solar sector a flurry with its announcement that it was, on application to the provincial Utilities and Review Board (URB), seeking to increase consumer rates 10% over the next three years and implement a new “system access charge” (SAC) for n...

12/16/2021

Pat Cunningham talks about risk management and country risk analysis. Country risk is not simply about a textbook evaluation of risk, it’s about the risks you never saw coming. Unfortunately, bad things happen to good people unless you’re well prepared.

Pat Cunningham talks about risk management and country risk analysis. Country risk is not simply about a textbook evaluation of risk, it’s about the risks

12/08/2021

International guide.
Practical International Negotiation.
Did you know that international commercial negotiation has nothing to do with the paper? Tony Cioni was doing this international job for 25 years. Join him for a conversation about the cultural nuances of international negotiation.

Did you know that international commercial negotiation has nothing to do with the paper? Tony Cioni was doing this international job for 25 years. Join

11/29/2021

Nick brings his own experience and practical issues from a regulatory and compliance perspective. This chat is about sanctions, corruption, and money laundering. Nick also shares strategies that work and will help you to be successful when you go international.

Nick brings his own experience and practical issues from a regulatory and compliance perspective. This chat is about sanctions, corruption, and money

11/19/2021

Coming to a theatre near you: "The Clash in the Devonian Carbonate System". This great article, written by Nick Ettinger, examines the impending convergence of interests in Alberta's Devonian carbonate system among lithium, helium and CCS project proponents looking to utilize the same valuable pore space.

INTRODUCTION In January 2021, Alberta Energy reserved the Crown-owned pore space of the Elk Point Group in the red shaded area indicated in Figure 1B for

11/18/2021

Join us for an overview of the Helium industry, both domestic and international. Tony Cioni, Co-Founder of CITO Energy Group, will cover some of the legal and commercial challenges with Helium development projects, as well as a view into the geopolitics of the Helium business.

Cito at Canadian Global Energy ForumWebinar - Helium Exploration and Production: A Vital Emerging Industry Global helium prices have increased

11/12/2021

The Cold War ended in 1992 with the collapse of the Soviet Union – or so we were told. Given recent events, we are starting to wonder about a totally different view of the world.

Could Putin serve an ironic revenge on the West? If he did, would the real end of the Cold War come in, say, 2028 and not 1992? Revenge is a dish best served cold after all.

The Cold War ended in 1992 with the collapse of the Soviet Union – or so we were told. Given recent events, we are starting to wonder about a totally different view of the world.Could Putin serve an ironic revenge on the West? If he did, would the real end of the Cold War come in, say, 2028 and no...

10/19/2021

Props to Javier Blas for this meme comparing The Economist’s cover from September 2020 with the current cover. The internet remains undefeated.

Props to for this meme comparing The Economist’s cover from September 2020 with the current cover. The internet remains undefeated. While

10/19/2021

A letter from Tony Cioni to The Economist.

Dearest Editor, As a long-time international energy lawyer (both in petroleum and power), the Economist has proved an invaluable source of global

08/02/2021

The framework for subsurface Helium rights in the Alberta – which largely adopts that of traditional petroleum and natural gas tenure rights – fails to capture the nuances of Helium exploration and production. In our latest post, CITO examines a key aspect of the regulatory regime in Alberta that governs (potentially thwarts) the development of Helium resources – the “spacing unit” – and challenges its suitability in the economical development of Alberta’s Helium resources.

In the last three years, a helium (He) balloon has developed in the wake of the sell-off of the U.S. reserves. This trend could begin to deflate as the market re-equilibrates on the heels of new He discoveries around the world, the signing of significant new offtake agreements, and as new liquefacti...