Elisabeth Eljuri sits as arbitrator in major energy and natural resources arbitrations related to Latin America, filed under the rules of the ICC, ICDR, LCIA, UNCITRAL, and ICSID. Ms. Eljuri is FCIArb, a member of the ICC Court, and sits on the Board of the Miami International Arbitration Society.
In parallel, Ms. Eljuri has been a co-founder and executive with two private equity-backed oil companies over the past decade -- Westlawn Americas Offshore, a Houston-based oil company, and Sierra Oil & Gas, a Mexico-based oil company. Prior to that, she spent 27 years at two global firms and was Head of Latin America at Norton Rose Fulbright. She also held numerous industry positions, including President worldwide of the AIEN.
She graduated from Universidad Católica in Venezuela and Harvard Law School. She is admitted in New York and Venezuela.
We asked her how her expertise informs her approach on the AAA Energy Dispute Resolution Panel.
Q. Tell us about your background in the energy industry and resolving energy disputes, including areas such as regulatory compliance, environmental matters, joint ventures, or other complex energy issues.
I have spent over 30 years in the energy industry. During my career, I have had a major M&A/transactional practice as well as an international arbitration practice, with a strong focus on oil and gas upstream and midstream, natural resources, energy infrastructure, and, more recently, clean energy disputes. I have been focused on many areas, including joint ventures, JOAs, granting instruments, and international energy transactions.
Q. What types of energy disputes do you most often see in your work?
On the commercial arbitration side, the typical disputes have been related to major energy projects in Latin America under Joint Operating Agreements and Farmouts, clean energy infrastructure construction or operating disputes, major M&A arbitrations arising from oil and gas deals, contract performance of power plants, and energy joint ventures, to name a few. I also tend to see many investment arbitration cases surrounding energy projects.
Q. What drew you to ADR to work in the energy space? What do you value most about serving as a neutral on AAA's Energy panel?
When you come originally from a country like Venezuela, which never diversified its economy the way other countries sometimes were able to do, this decision was easy. Sometimes, anecdotally, I just say that in my case it was “genetic.” My maternal grandfather spent thirty years with Standard Oil of California, which later on became Richmond and then Chevron. He started there as Head of Land and Legal in Venezuela in the 1940s and retired as a director of the company three decades later. My mother, in turn, was one of the top officers in OPEC in the early 70s for a few years, unrelated to Venezuela and only due to her impressive journalistic credentials. Her office was down the hall from Sheik Yamani and in the same hall where the famous kidnapping by the Jackal occurred. Those were prime years for OPEC.
When I returned to Venezuela in late 1993 after three years of grad school and work in the US, at the very beginning of the Oil Opening, it made total sense. I was also fortunate enough to have colleagues, whom I knew well, in the Legal Departments of multiple oil companies, which led me to build a strong client base early on in my career.
My best O&G teachers were my clients who had done this work all over the world and were now involved in a new-country entry. There is really so much specialized knowledge that goes into this business, not just technical but also commercial and legal. The model contracts are customized for the international oil industry. My decades in AIEN (at the time AIPN) were also fantastic learning opportunities. The international nature of the business was exactly the reason it was so easy to then apply it everywhere in the region, from Mexico to Argentina.
Turning to what I value the most about being a neutral in this space, it is that I have the opportunity to contribute to the tribunal by ensuring that the industry context is also taken into account when interpreting those industry contracts, most of which have been around for a long time. I bring to the panel my expertise, both from my legal background and my commercial/executive background.
Q. What emerging trends are you seeing in the Energy sector? What developments do you think will most shape the future of dispute resolution in this area?
I have seen parties looking more and more for specialized arbitrators with true energy expertise when confronted with these very high-value disputes in the industry.
Q. What advice do you have for parties preparing for arbitration or mediation in complex energy disputes?
The parties need to be advised by sophisticated counsel that understand the nuances of the energy business. When applying model contracts of the energy business, it is important to have a full appreciation of the interpretation of those contracts, as well as any departures from the model contract.