A federal judge in Washington D.C. has tossed out a new SEC rule requiring oil companies to disclose payments to foreign governments.
The rule stemmed from the 2010 Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and had been trumpeted by human rights group as a means to reduce corruption in otherwise poor, oil-producing countries in Africa and the Middle East.
But oil companies fought the rule. The American Petroleum Institute, of which majors like Irving-based Exxon Mobil Corp. are members, argued the SEC rule went too far in requiring detailed accounting of payments in what were supposed to be confidential deals.
U.S. District Judge John Bates agreed, writing in his opinion, “The Commission misread the statute to mandate public disclosure of the reports, and its decision to deny any exemption was, given the limited explanation provided, arbitrary and capricious.”