The American Petroleum Institute, a trade association for the oil and natural gas industry, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have filed a stay request with the Securities and Exchange Commission, an effort to halt implementation of a rule requiring companies to disclose payments they make to governments for natural resources extraction. It has asked the Commission to act on its request by Nov. 1.

Joining them in the filing to stay Rule 13q-1 and amendments to new Form SD disclosures were the Independent Petroleum Association of America and the National Foreign Trade Council.

Approved in August by a 2-1 vote of the SEC, the rule requires registered oil, gas and mining companies to disclose any payment, or series of related payments, totaling $100,000 or more that are made during the course of a fiscal year to the U.S. or foreign governments in exchange for extracting resources. The rulemaking was required of the Commission by the Dodd-Frank Act. 

On Oct. 10, the four associations filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. They claim the new rule violates the First Amendment, the Administrative Procedure Act (on the grounds that it is “arbitrary and capricious”), and the Exchange Act of 1934. They make the case that the SEC failed to conduct an adequate cost-benefit analysis, as required by law, and that it “grossly misinterpreted its statutory mandate” to make a compilation of information available to the public.

The hand-delivered Motion for Stay asks the SEC to defer the rule's Nov. 13 effective date while their challenge remains in litigation and that a new compliance date be set through no-action relief at the time the litigation is concluded.

“By the vote of less than a majority of the Commission, the SEC adopted one of the most costly rules in its history,” the groups wrote. “A stay of the rule will cause no identifiable harm, and will enable U.S. Companies and their investors to avert potentially billions of dollars of unwarranted costs.”

SEC Spokesman John Nester declined comment.

Earlier this week, Oxfam America filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit, arguing it would negatively impact its mission to “ensure citizens in oil and mineral rich countries know how much money their governments receive from the extraction of oil and minerals.” Because the organization also holds stock in oil companies (including Chevron and Exxon), the motion argues that the lawsuit undermines its status as an investor.

On Friday, the international relief agency weighed in on the plaintiffs' newly filed motion.

"API has asked the SEC to decide in just one week to suspend a rule that took over two years to craft,” said Jonathan Kaufman, co-counsel for Oxfam America's legal representation team at EarthRights International. “We're sure the Commission will see through their legal arguments and recognize that a stay would hurt the interests of investors, communities, and ultimately the companies themselves."

"The SEC should not buckle under the demands of Big Oil,” added Ian Gary, Oxfam America's senior policy manager.