This volume analyses the upstream oil and gas regulations of the most relevant Latin American countries. The book is divided into two sections.

The first provides an outlook of the oil and gas laws and regulations and the key concerns in the most significant jurisdictions in the region (eg, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico). The authors describe the key terms of each country’s applicable petroleum laws and regulations, the types of legal arrangement in place (eg, concession agreements, production sharing contracts or service agreements), the fiscal terms, how to qualify to acquire acreage, the types of governing law, available dispute resolution mechanisms and government controls, among other things.

The second section covers the most important topics that may affect the industry from a regional viewpoint (eg, M&A, fiscal and economical analyses, host government contracts, unconventional plays, civil law issues and national oil company participation).

This approach enables all those involved in the Latin American petroleum industry to master the contractual and regulatory issues from a local and regional perspective through one publication. This volume thus serves as a valuable tool for lawyers and other professionals in the industry who are interested in understanding the key legal terms and provisions of the Latin American oil and gas industry.

Edmar Almeida
Professor, Institute of Economics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/edmaralmeida/

Professor Edmar Almeida is professor and research director at the Institute of Economics of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and leads the energy economics research group. Since 1993, Professor Almeida has taught undergraduate, graduate and MBA courses focusing largely on the energy sector. He is also active in academic and professional research, focusing on the evolution of the oil, gas and electricity industries in Brazil and internationally. His specific research interests include industrial organisation and the dynamic of the energy industries, regulation and energy policy, as well as technological innovation and its impact on energy markets.
Professor Almeida graduated in economics from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil (1992), has an MSc in industrial economics and a PhD in applied economics from the Institute of Energy Policy and Economics, Grenoble University, France (1999). He is the author or coauthor of several books, academic papers and professional articles.

Mariana Ardizzone
Partner, Maciel, Norman & Asociados
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariana-ardizzone-5040771/

Mariana Ardizzone is a partner at Maciel, Norman & Asociados in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she leads the energy, oil and gas and natural resources law practice. Ms Ardizzone has structured several transnational gas pipeline projects and power generation projects in the Southern Cone of South America. She has advised and negotiated a major international swap of assets and shares involving refineries, exploration and production assets and retail stations in Argentina and Brazil. She also regularly advises on mergers and acquisitions and complex regulatory matters in the energy and natural resources industries.
Ms Ardizzone frequently speaks on energy and natural resources law. She holds degrees in law and energy regulation and business from the University of Buenos Aires School of Law, the University of Michigan Law School and the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology.

Luisa Arnal Machado
Associate, DLA InterJuris Abogados
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/luisaarnalmachado/

Luisa Arnal Machado focuses her practice on corporate, banking and financial matters, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, transactions and finance operations. She has participated in asset sales, due diligence, corporate restructurings, negotiations and preparations of corporate contracts, including stock purchase agreements and shareholders agreements. Ms Arnal has experience in assisting domestic and multinational corporations on the corporate, contractual and regulatory aspects of their activities.
Before joining DLA InterJuris, she was an associate at Gomez-Pinzón Zuleta Abogados in Colombia, and previously worked as a lawyer in Vencred SA, a financial company that is part of the Venezolano de Crédito group of companies.

Mark Clarke
Partner, Ashurst LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-clarke-150688129/

Mark Clarke is a partner in the energy disputes group at Ashurst LLP in London. He has represented governments, state-owned entities and some of the largest companies in the world. Mr Clarke has advised in relation to a number of civil and criminal investigations concerning allegations of bribery and corruption in the oil and gas sector, involving both UK and US agencies. He has also acted in numerous complex cross-border disputes, as well as in litigation, arbitration and expert determination concerning a wide range of matters, including: disputes arising under production sharing agreements; exploration disputes involving force majeure; preemption disputes; regulatory investigations concerning the re-classification of reserves; disputes concerning the price and quality of gas; and disputes concerning the construction and operation of drilling rigs.

Sylvie D’Apote
Managing partner, Prysma E&T Consultores
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sylvie-dapote/

Sylvie D’Apote is founder and managing partner of Prysma E&T Consultores, a consulting company based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ms D’Apote has more than 20 years of experience as an international energy consultant, focusing largely on Latin America and natural gas, developing considerable expertise in supply–demand analysis, regulatory issues, market integration, cross-border gas and liquefied natural gas trade and gas-power convergence.
She previously worked as: director for gas in the Southern Cone for IHS-CERA (2005 to 2009); managing partner at Gas Energy, Rio de Janeiro (2009 to 2013); head of the Latin American Programme at the International Energy Agency (IEA), Paris (1997 to 2003); and senior economist for WEFA Energy, London (1995 to 1997). Ms D’Apote speaks frequently at seminars and conferences in Brazil and abroad on various subjects relating to the Brazilian and South America oil and gas industry. She is author of South American Gas: Daring to Tap the Bounty, published by the IEA.

Vera de Gyarfas
Counsel, King & Spalding
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vera-de-brito-de-gyarfas-83584a7/

Vera de Gyarfas is a counsel in the global transactions practice group at King & Spalding. Her practice focuses on energy projects in Latin America and Africa. She represents companies in upstream exploration and production projects, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other gas projects; power companies in the construction of generation, transmission and distribution facilities; and petrochemical companies in the development of specialised plants under joint ventures, profit-sharing agreements, operating services agreements, engineering, procurement and construction contracts, oilfield service contracts, LNG contracts, and mergers and acquisitions. Ms de Gyarfas is a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators and representative for Venezuela in its Latin America region executive committee. She is ranked in Chambers and Partners Global 2014 under energy and natural resources as a foreign expert in the United States and an expert based abroad for Venezuela.

Elisabeth Eljuri
Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabeth-eljuri-4a4289/

Elisabeth Eljuri is head of Latin America operations at Norton Rose Fulbright. She is a senior member of the energy and international arbitration practice groups of the firm. Ms Eljuri is immediate past president of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators. She is admitted to practice in New York and Venezuela.
Ms Eljuri focuses on corporate and transactional work for major energy companies and international dispute work related to energy. She has significant M&A experience and has regularly advised oil and gas producers and service companies engaged in high-level transactions. She has worked in the energy business in Mexico and Venezuela, as well as in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru and other Latin American countries.
She frequently acts as co-counsel in international arbitrations and has been retained as an independent expert. She has published extensively in the areas of energy, investment disputes and investment treaty law.

José Virgílio Lopes Enei
Partner, Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice Advogados
[email protected]
https://www.machadomeyer.com.br/pt/advogados/jose-virgilio-lopes-enei

José Virgílio Lopes Enei is a partner and co-head of the infrastructure and energy department of Machado Meyer, working out of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Among other credentials, he holds an LLM degree from the University of Virginia and a master’s in corporate law from the University of São Paulo. He is admitted to practice in both New York and Brazil. In 2000 and 2001 he worked as a foreign attorney for Dewey Ballantine LLP in New York.
In the oil and gas sector he has led the Machado Meyer team on a number of project finance transactions for floating production storage and offloading, drilling vessels, gas pipelines and gas-fired powerplants, as well as mergers and acquisitions and farm-in and farmout transactions involving exploration and production companies.

Fernando Fresco
Senior legal counsel, Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company ksc (KUFPEC)
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernando-fresco-12345/

Fernando Fresco is senior legal counsel in the legal affairs department at Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company and currently lives in Kuwait. He is admitted to practise in New York and in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He holds a law degree from Córdoba National University, Argentina, two master’s degrees, an LLM from Duke University School of Law, United States, and a Master en Derecho Empresarial from Southern University, Argentina. He is a former professor at the school of law of the University of Buenos Aires.
Mr Fresco specialises in international upstream oil and gas projects, M&A projects, liquefied natural gas projects and project finance.

Winston Fritsch
CEO, Petra Energia
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/winston-fritsch-69b168126/

Winston Fritsch is the CEO of Petra Energia, an independent Brazilian E&P company. He started his professional life as an academic, becoming dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and, as secretary for economic policy of the Brazilian Ministry of Finance, was a leading member of a team which designed and implemented the Real Stabilisation Plan.
After returning to the private sector he had a long career in banking, being CEO of leading international banks in Brazil and setting up two Brazilian financial services firms as a senior partner.
Mr Fritsch has BA and MSc degrees in engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a PhD in economics from the University of Cambridge.

Miriam Grunstein
Partner, Brilliant Energy Consulting/CIDE
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/miriam-grunstein-4018868/

Dr Miriam Grunstein is chief energy counsel at Brilliant Energy Consulting and a non-resident scholar at the Baker Institute Mexico Centre, Rice University. She also teaches part time at the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE). Her consulting and research focus is on energy law, public regulation, administrative law and international transactions. Ms Grunstein has practised energy law in the Mexico City offices of several international law firms, where she has represented energy companies in various transactions. Her legal publications include books and articles on energy law, particularly hydrocarbons. She has also served as a consultant on energy regulation for the Mexican Senate, Pemex and the Comisión Federal de Electricidad. In 2012 she won the Fernando Cuevas Prize – awarded by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean – for the best essay on energy and climate change.
Ms Grunstein holds a bachelor’s degree in Latin American studies from the University of New Mexico, a law degree (summa cum laude) from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México and a doctorate (summa cum laude) from New York University in Spanish and Portuguese languages and literature.

Giancarlo Guardia
Professor of energy law, University of Lima
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/giancarloguardia/

Giancarlo Guardia studied law at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica, Peru, and has a master’s in law from the University of Houston (LLM programme in energy, environment and natural resources), where he received a scholarship from the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation. Mr Guardia is professor of energy law at the Universidad de Lima (Peru), and has been a lecturer and academic coordinator for several seminar and law courses on hydrocarbon law. Mr Guardia has contributed papers on hydrocarbons law and oil projects in Peru to various law journals. He is currently legal manager at Geopark Peru.

Kaisa Huhta
Energy law coordinator, UEF Law School
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaisa-huhta-b7b11848/

Kaisa Huhta is the energy law coordinator at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) Law School. She executes the LLM diploma programme in international and European energy law and policy. She is also an active member of the Centre for Climate Change, Energy and Environmental Law at the UEF Law School. She has previously been involved with consultancy and research projects in oil and gas law, energy efficiency and EU energy law and policy. Her current research focuses on capacity remuneration mechanisms in the European Union.

Pedro Jardim
Senior associate, Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice Advogados
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedrohjardim/

Pedro Jardim is a senior associate in the infrastructure and energy department of Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice Advogados. His practice has focused on natural resources – including oil and gas and mining businesses – since the beginning of his career in 2005, when he joined a boutique energy law firm and later BG Group, both in São Paulo. Since 2007 he has worked at Machado Meyer on some of the most important transactions in the area.
Mr Jardim specialised his expertise with a postgraduate title in commercial law from Fundação Getúlio Vargas in São Paulo and an LLM degree from the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy at the University of Dundee, Scotland. He also worked as an associate at Allen & Overy in London in 2011 and 2012.

Dario Gerardo La Manna
Counsel, CNP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dario-la-manna-97bbb0199/

Dario Gerardo Lamanna (JD, 1991), received his MBA in 2006 and LLM in oil and gas law in 1995. He holds degrees in senior management (PAD, 2004) and management development (PDD, 2000), as well as executive programmes at IPADE Business School, the Panamerican University (CICA, 2004) and Harvard Law School (US, 1995). Mr Lamanna has extensive experience advising high-profile multinational corporations, with expertise in oil, gas and energy deals, international business development and M&A transactions. He has served as chief legal officer at several international petroleum companies and as a board member.
Mr Lamanna is a university professor and has been a speaker at several congresses on oil and gas in Latin America. He is the author of Regime of Hydrocarbons in Latin America, published by Editorial Ábaco de Rodolfo Depalma SRL, Buenos Aires, 2007; and co-author of Upstream Law and Regulation: A Global Guide, published by Globe Law and Business Ltd, London, 2013. Mr Lamanna is a board member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (2013 to 2016).

Tomás Lanardonne
Special counsel – Manager of Neuquén office, Perez Alati, Grondona, Benites, Arntsen & Martinez de Hoz (Jr)
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomas-lanardonne-87b6b423/

Tomás Lanardonne heads the Neuquén office of Argentine law firm Perez Alati. He is a transactional and regulatory lawyer with experience in oil and gas law (upstream, midstream and downstream projects), electricity law (generation, transmission, distribution and end-user projects), renewable energy law (smallscale hydroelectric power, biofuels, wind and solar energy projects) and litigation and international arbitration (energy-related litigation before Federal and state courts and domestic and international arbitration institutions).
Mr Lanardonne graduated as a lawyer from the University of Buenos Aires in 2005, where he obtained an honours diploma. He has also received postgraduate degrees in oil and gas law (University of Buenos Aires, 2007) and administrative law (Argentine Catholic University, 2008–09). During 2012 and 2013 Mr Lanardonne pursued an LLM in energy law and policy at the University of Dundee (Scotland) as a British Chevening Scholar.
He has authored several articles on energy law and is a founding member of the first Argentine Journal of Energy Law.

Danielle Ludwig
Associate, LO Baptista, Schmidt, Valois, Miranda, Ferreira, Agel
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-ludwig-988160151/

Danielle Ludwig is an associate in LO Baptista, Schmidt, Valois, Miranda, Ferreira, Agel’s oil and gas department. She represents clients in oil and gas and mining projects, and offers legal assistance in corporate, contractual and regulatory matters. She has been heavily involved in a series of transactions for the acquisition of assets in Brazil, and has assisted foreign and domestic oil companies in the bid rounds promoted by the Brazilian National Oil Agency.
She holds a specialisation in oil and gas business and regulations from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) and an LLB degree from Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. She has an elementary certificate in European and French law from the Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II) and is taking an LLM in business law at FGV. Ms Ludwig participated in the associate training programme at Thompson & Knight’s Dallas office.

Aaron G Murphy
Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-murphy-3178a37/

Aaron G Murphy is a partner in the white-collar crime practice at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP in San Francisco. He is the author of law reviews, magazine articles and opinion pieces on anti-corruption enforcement. He is also the author of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: A Practical Resource for Managers and Executives, which is widely used by companies around the world. He has conducted dozens of in-country bribery investigations for Fortune 500 companies in more than 25 countries across five continents. He is routinely quoted in major media sources on corruption-related topics.

Angela Pearson
Partner, Ashurst LLP
[email protected]
https://www.ashurst.com/en/people/angela-pearson/

Angela Pearson is a partner in the dispute resolution department at Ashurst LLP in London, head of the global investigations and compliance group and a member of the firm’s global board. She has specialist experience in conducting internal investigations for corporate clients relating to bribery and corruption, fraud and money laundering. She regularly advises companies on compliance issues relating to the United Kingdom’s Bribery Act 2010 (including entry into emerging markets and transactions in high-risk jurisdictions). She also advises companies in relation to their dealings with and making reports to the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office, City of London Police (overseas anticorruption unit) and the National Crime Agency.

Eduardo G Pereira
Adjunct professor of energy law, University of Eastern Finland
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-eduardo-g-pereira-107a7171/

Eduardo G Pereira has been active in the oil and gas industry for several years and is an international expert on joint-operating agreements. His experience in this area – both academic and practical – is extensive. He played a key role in assisting Petra Energia in becoming Brazil’s leading onshore oil and gas company and developing its international business throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. He has practical experience in over 40 jurisdictions covering America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Dr Pereira concluded his doctoral thesis on oil and gas joint ventures at the University of Aberdeen. He is an adjunct professor of energy law at the University of Eastern Finland Law School, visiting researcher at the Scandinavian Institute for Maritime Law (University of Oslo), managing editor for UEF Energy Law Review and an associate editor of OGEL. He is also the author and editor of several leading oil and gas textbooks.

Marcio Pereira
Partner, LO Baptista, Schmidt, Valois, Miranda, Ferreira, Agel
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/m%C3%A1rcio-pereira-a693331a/

Marcio Pereira is a partner at LO Baptista, Schmidt, Valois, Miranda, Ferreira, Agel and has been responsible for its environmental and sustainability practice since 2009. Mr Pereira has worked on consultancy, litigation and institutional relationships involving production, governmental and non-governmental sectors. He has experience in numerous business areas, including energy, oil and gas, infrastructure, industrial, mining, transport, forestry, real state, civil construction and farming. Between 2004 and 2009 he worked as a social-environmental legal coordinator for the Vale legal department.
Throughout his career Mr Pereira has participated in proposals for legal issues, having published articles in specialist magazines. He has been recognised by Latin Lawyer and Chambers and Partners as a leading lawyer in his field. He was also a professor of postgraduate environmental law courses. He has a degree in environmental management from the University of São Paulo and a law degree specialising in the environment from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo.

Francisco Pinochet Cantwell
Partner, Kast, Pinochet
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/francisco-pinochet-cantwell-5a658519/

Francisco Pinochet Cantwell is a founding partner at Kast, Pinochet. His main professional area is foreign investment and energy law, and he also has experience in international public bids and its regulatory law.
Pursuant to an international bid in 2008, the Chilean government granted eight oil fields to several foreign companies for the exploration and exploitation of natural gas and oil deposits in the Magellan region. Mr Pinochet represented one of the largest international companies in the bid before government negotiations and closing of the special petroleum operation contract. He also represented this client before the Empresa Nacional del Petróleo for its joint operating agreement. Mr Pinochet Cantwell graduated from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile’s law school. He has an LLM in procedural law and is a PhD candidate at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario, School of Law.

Eduardo Andrés Pigretti
Legal Manager, YPF SA
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/eduardo-andr%C3%A9s-pigretti-93122317/

Eduardo Andrés Pigretti is the legal manager for environmental affairs at YPF SA in Argentina. He holds a JD-equivalent degree in Argentina and a master’s degree in law from the University of Chicago Law School in the United States. He has more than 12 years of experience in the oil and gas contractual, regulatory and environmental fields. Some highlights of his professional experience include structuring, negotiating and leading two off-shore drilling projects in Argentina (shallow waters Aurora/Helix project in 2008 and ultra-deep waters Malvinas project in 2011) and leading the structuring, negotiation and drafting of a wide range of oil and gas service-related contracts.
Mr Pigretti is a tenured professor for the oil and gas master’s degree course at the University of Buenos Aires and he lectures regularly on oil and gas service contracts.

Décio Pio Borges de Castro
Senior associate, Pinheiro Neto Advogados
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/d%C3%A9cio-pio-borges-de-castro-a380156b/

Décio Pio Borges de Castro is a senior associate in the corporate/banking team of Pinheiro Neto’s Rio de Janeiro office, having also worked as visiting associate at Slaughter and May in London (2013). He works mainly on M&A, project finance and capital markets transactions. He has advised several Brazilian and foreign companies, financial institutions and international economic groups on M&A transactions, private equity investments and divestitures, project finance, corporate finance and capital markets deals. He has also advised foreign clients with regard to exchange, insurance and oil and gas regulation.
Mr Pio Borges de Castro holds an LLB from the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (2003), an MBA in corporate finance from FGV (2009) and an LLM in corporate and commercial law from the London School of Economics and
Political Science (2013).

María Cecilia Rachadell
Partner, DLA Interjuris Abogados
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-cecilia-rachadell/

María Cecilia Rachadell is co-managing partner of DLA InterJuris and a foreign legal consultant (not admitted to practice law in Florida) for DLA Piper in Miami. She practises Venezuelan law in mergers and acquisitions, financial services, project finance, capital market transactions, and domestic and international arbitration, focusing on the corporate, contractual and regulatory aspects of businesses operating in Venezuela and internationally. She holds an LLM from Harvard Law School and a JD summa cum laude from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello.
Ms Rachadell has been recognised for her achievements in the corporate and financial field by Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 Latin America, Best Lawyers, The International Financial Law Review 1000, Latin Lawyer and Who’s Who Legal: The International Who’s Who of Corporate Tax Lawyers, among others. The Guide to the World’s Leading Project Finance Lawyers has recognised her as an authority on project finance.

Gabriela Rachadell de Delgado
Partner, DLA Interjuris Abogados
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriela-rachadell-de-delgado-3bb16251/

Gabriela Rachadell de Delgado is head of DLA InterJuris’s energy practice and a foreign legal consultant (not admitted to practice law in Florida) for DLA Piper in Miami. She has been involved in the incorporation of joint venture companies and has advised several companies on operating agreements, strategic alliances and associations. She has also advised oil and gas service companies, downstream companies and infrastructure projects. She has managed highprofile contracts with upstream and downstream companies, including project financing. She holds an MBA from New York University Stern, an LLM from Harvard Law School and a JD cum laude from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello.
Ms Rachadell de Delgado is currently a director of the Latin American Gas Producer Association. She was recognised among the world’s 50 leading women in the energy arena and received the Key Women in Energy Global Award 2005. She has been listed in Chambers & Partners Global as DLA Piper’s Miami energy expert.

José Ribeiro do Prado Junior
Partner, Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice Advogados
[email protected]

José Ribeiro do Prado Junior has been a partner at Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice Advogados since 2000 and is a co-head of the infrastructure and energy department in São Paulo. Among other credentials, Mr Ribeiro do Prado holds an LLM degree from King’s College London. In 1998 and 1999 he worked as an associate with Cameron McKenna in London.
He has led the Machado Meyer team in some of the most important and innovative transactions in the energy sector, from diversified funding solutions to companies dedicated to the oil and gas business.

Javier Robalino Orellana
Partner, Paz Horowitz Robalino Garcés
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/javier-robalino-orellana-3a595b1a/

Javier Robalino Orellana has extensive experience in negotiations and arbitrations involving international commercial matters, investor-tostate contracts, energy and oil and gas disputes, and breach-of-contract claims. He has represented clients in high-profile investment treaty arbitrations and before the main arbitration centres in Ecuador, as well as under the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, the International Chamber of Commerce and institutional and ad hoc rules.
In the area of energy and natural resources, Mr Robalino Orellana represents clients in bidding on oil blocks and fields, acquisition of rights, service contracts, investment planning, joint ventures, purchase–sale and share agreements, dispute resolution contracts, due diligence, tax, and regulatory and environmental matters. Mr Robalino Orellana was named in the Global Arbitration Review Top 45 and is approved by the Latin American Corporate Counsel. He also practises in the areas of public contracts, investment planning and corporate tax. He consistently receives recognition from legal guides, such as Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 and Latin Lawyer 250.

David Sáenz
Senior lawyer, SK Innovation Sucursal Peruana
[email protected]

David Sáenz is a senior lawyer at SK Innovation Sucursal Peruana (the Peruvian branch of SK Innovation Co Ltd). He specialises in the regulation of exploration, production and exploitation of oil and gas, as well transportation, distribution and infrastructure issues. He holds a degree in law and political science and has specialised in the hydrocarbons sector since 2008. In particular, Mr Sáenz has dedicated his professional activity to provide all kinds of consultation regarding the energy sector and environmental issues, especially oil and gas regulation and drafting contracts (eg, early production system, drilling contracts, soil remediation agreements and oilfield service contracts). He has also been involved in the drafting and negotiation of joint operating agreements and farm-out agreements. Mr Sáenz is assistant to Professor Giancarlo Guardia at the University of Lima’s energy law course.

Diana Sanclemente
Senior partner, Sanclemente, Fernández Abogados SA
[email protected]
https://www.sfa.com.co/sociosymiembros

For more than 20 years Diana Sanclemente’s practice has focused on the energy sector, mining and major oil and gas projects in Colombia. Ms Sanclemente has recently been involved with a shale gas project, asset acquisition for oil and service companies, the Barranca refinery upgrade project, a joint project for construction of an oil pipeline and advising oil companies to participate in the Agency of Hydrocarbons 2014 bidding round. She is currently ranked in Chambers and Partners Leading Lawyers for Business (The Client’s Guide), as well as in Who’s Who Legal (Energy), which listed her as one of 10 Colombian lawyers ranked within the best 208 energy lawyers globally (La Republica).
She serves as a director on various company boards, including in the pharmaceutical, oil, automotive and financial sectors.

Pablo Stejskal
Partner, Stejskal & Associates
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/pablo-stejskal-b-651181209/

Pablo Stejskal is partner at Stejskal & Associates law firm in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. He is a specialist in corporate law and experienced in international transactions and oil, gas and environmental regulatory matters. He has worked in Bolivia as legal counsel with Petrolera Chaco SA (BP Group, 2001 to 2007), YPFB Chaco (2009 to 2012) and has practised as a lawyer since 1992. Mr Stejskal holds law degrees in Bolivia (1992) and Argentina (1989). He also has postgraduate degrees in constitutional law (Spain); corporate law (University of Santa Cruz, Bolivia); and business law (UC Boliviana – HIID Harvard). He has taught constitutional law and oil and gas law at the Bolivian Private University. His presentations include “Gas Regulations in Bolivia” at the International Congress of Energy Law, Brazil (2007); “Environmental Regulations” (2014); “Oil and Gas Contracts in Bolivia” (2013); and many others. He has published numerous articles (see www.lex-stejskal.com).

Prateek Swaika
Associate, Ashurst LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/swaika/

Prateek Swaika is an associate in the dispute resolution practice at Ashurst LLP in London. He has broad experience advising on commercial disputes in the English High Court and in adjudication and international arbitration forums. Mr Swaika regularly advises clients on implementing adequate anti-bribery policies and procedures, conducting risk assessments and due diligence, and managing exposure under the United Kingdom’s Bribery Act 2010. He has advised international clients in respect of specific corruption risks arising from new overseas ventures, including in South Africa, Papua New Guinea, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

Daniel Szyfman
Partner, Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice Advogados
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-szyfman/

Daniel Szyfman is partner in charge of oil, gas and energy matters at Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice Advogados. He has an LLM in finance law from King’s College London and a postgraduate title in administrative law from Fundação Getúlio Vargas in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Mr Szyfman has extensive experience in all segments of the oil and gas industry. In the upstream area particularly, he has participated in several M&A and gas development projects, some during the time he spent as secondee at BG Brazil. Mr Szyfman’s experience also includes 12 months as secondee at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s London office.
Based in Rio de Janeiro, he has recently advised midstream and downstream clients, particularly in shipbuilding and fuel-distribution businesses.

Kim Talus
Professor of European law, University of Eastern Finland
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-talus-98699b264/

Kim Talus is a professor of European law and director of the LLM diploma programme on international and European energy law and policy at the University of Eastern Finland. His research and other activities cover international, comparative and European energy law. More specifically, he focuses on oil and gas, international investment protection, and EU energy law and policy. He has published widely on natural gas contracts and is a frequent speaker on this topic at international conferences.
He has held teaching positions at University College London, the University of Houston and Bonn University. He is the editor in chief of Oil, Gas and Energy Law (www.ogel.org) and a member of the editorial board for the Journal of World Energy Law and Business.

Clovis Trevino
Independent legal counsel
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/clovistrevino/

Clovis Trevino holds a JD from Georgetown University and an LLM in international dispute settlement from the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. She is a member of the New York and Florida bars, focusing her practice on cross-border commercial and corporate matters, with a regional focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. Her writings appear in a range of academic journals, including the Journal of International Dispute Settlement, the Journal of Energy and Natural Resources and the Journal of World Energy Law and Business. Ms Trevino is also a contributor to Investment Arbitration Reporter, a news and analysis publication covering investor–state dispute settlement.

Rafael Valdivieso
Associate, Paz Horowitz Robalino Garcés
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafaelvaldivieso/

Rafael Valdivieso specialises in mergers and acquisitions, energy, oil and gas, administrative law, contracts and corporate law. He is a member of the International Chamber of Commerce Young Arbitrators Forum and is the secretary of the Ecuador chapter of the International Fiscal Association. He has previously published several pieces of work on administrative procedure, energy markets in Ecuador, international arbitration, litigation and corporate structures. Mr Rafael Valdivieso is a well-known young professor at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito and is becoming a rising star in environmental litigation.

Jose L Valera
Partner, Mayer Brown LLP
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jose-valera-2b616123/

Jose L Valera is a partner in the Houston office of Mayer Brown LLP and co-head of the firm’s oil and gas law practice. With more than 25 years of legal experience representing oil, gas and electric energy companies globally, he focuses his practice on domestic and international energy transactions and project development.
He represents oil and gas companies on exploration and production contracts, investment agreements, upstream development projects, mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures. Mr Valera’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) practice includes liquefaction services, regasification services, development of regasification terminals and purchase and sale of LNG.
Mr Valera is fluent in English, Spanish and French. He is a former member of the board of directors of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators and is a frequent speaker on energy matters at professional conferences. He holds JDs from the Catholic University of Peru, Lima, and South Texas College of Law.

Ernesto Velasco
Associate. Paz Horowitz Robalino Garcés
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ernestovelascogranda/

Ernesto Velasco practises in government contracts, infrastructure, anti-corruption and private-public partnerships. He previously worked as a legal adviser at the Ecuadorian Ministry of Transportation and Public Works, involved mainly in road and port concessions. During 2014 he spent four months at a major Brazilian law firm as a foreign intern.
Mr Velasco holds a law degree and is currently an LLM candidate at the University of Maryland. He was awarded a TRACE International Scholarship and is pursuing classes and research aimed at increasing transparency and reducing corruption.

Marcelo Viveiros de Moura
Partner, Pinheiro Neto Advogados
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcelo-viveiros-de-moura-266162/

Marcelo Viveiros de Moura is a partner in the corporate division of Pinheiro Neto’s Rio de Janeiro office, having also worked as a visiting associate at the London offices of Slaughter and May (1992). He specialises in corporate law, focusing on mergers and acquisitions and corporate restructuring; regulatory law in the oil and gas, capital markets and insurance areas; project and corporate finance; and government procurements and contracts.
Mr Viveiros de Moura graduated with an LLB from the University of Rio de Janeiro Law School (1988) and an LLM from the University of Cambridge (Hughes Hall, 1993). He was a professor of corporate law at the Fundação Getúlio Vargas faculty of law between 2012 and 2014. He has served as chairman of the British-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (2007 to 2009) and is currently sitting as a member of the board of the chamber.