Political Turmoil, Government Instability, Unpredictable Economies and Trump: The International Arbitration Approach to Issues Impacting the Global Energy Market

Location

St Pete Beach, FL
United States

Date
October 15, 2019
Type
Presentation
Event Type
Annual Conference
Presenters
Richard Deutsch
Description

This presentation will provide an overview of important issues impacting the global energy market and how investors can mitigate against commercial and political risk and how this is viewed through the lens of international arbitration. For instance: elections in 14 Latin American companies and others in Europe over the next two years are expected to lead to new energy policies in those countries. For example, Mexico’s new president has a vision for Pemex that is a complete reversal of the one shared by the prior regime, which is causing anxiety for recent investors in Mexico’s energy sector. To a more drastic extreme, the consequences of Venezuela’s tragic economic collapse has yet to be determined but the various scenarios are not comforting for foreign investors. In Guyana, where multinational energy companies hold major concessions, recently failed elections have caused uncertainty to abound regarding the treatment of existing concessions with the government. The Trump effect can be seen by the current administration’s view on international treaties such as NAFTA. U.S. investors have often relied on the protections of US treaties to protect their foreign investments, but those treaties are being altered or dropped. Likewise, the attitude towards China and Russia continues to shift. And of course, there is Brexit, which may impact energy investments in the North Sea. Some assurance for mitigating both commercial and political risk when investing in energy projects worldwide can be provided through international arbitration. This presentation will explain the commercial terms that should be considered when investing in energy projects worldwide, as well as treaty protections available to investors for future and current energy investments.

1 hr CPE – Finance, 1 hr CLE; 1 hr CE