Linklaters Secures Landmark Win for Enagás as Arbitral Award Against Peru Raised to US$302 Million
Linklaters’ International Arbitration team built upon its landmark victory for Enagás, a leading Spanish energy company, in its arbitration against the Republic of Peru. The ICSID Tribunal first ordered Peru to pay Enagás US$194 million (including interest) in compensation in December. In a recent development, the Tribunal raised the award to US$302 million (including interest). This is the largest arbitral award issued against Peru to date.
The dispute arose from the Southern Peruvian Gas Pipeline project, which was halted in 2017. Enagás, along with its consortium partners, had invested heavily in the project, which involved constructing a 1,000-kilometer pipeline with a multibillion-dollar investment.
The Tribunal vindicated Enagás’ rights and found that Peru violated the Spain-Peru Bilateral Investment Treaty by expropriating Enagás' investment and breaching its fair and equitable treatment obligation. The Tribunal also declared that Enagás was wrongly included in Category 2 of Law 30737, by which Peru is currently withholding over US$500 million in Peru arising from Enagás’ investment in a different project in Peru and further dismissed all of Peru’s unsubstantiated allegations of any wrongdoings involving Enagás.
The Tribunal initially awarded Enagás US$176 million, plus interest, which brought the total to US$194 million and required Peru to cover 75% of the procedural costs. Last Friday, the same ICSID Tribunal that issued the December ruling in Enagás’ favor increased the award by approximately US$104 million, including principal and interest, bringing the total to US$302 million.
The Linklaters team was led by Partners Christian Albanesi (Washington, D.C.) and Borja Fernandez de Troconiz (Madrid), and included Counsel Roberto Sanchez (Washington, D.C.) and Senior Associate Mateo Noseda Zorrilla (Washington, D.C.).
Linklaters’ lawyers have practiced in Latin America for decades and the firm was one of the first international firms to open an office in Brazil in 1997. With a growing team of Latin America-focused lawyers across the firm’s New York, Washington, D.C., and São Paulo, the firm continues to increase its presence in the Latin America region and deepen existing relationships with leading local law firms. Linklaters is highly ranked across key Latin America legal directories including Chambers, Legal 500, and Latin Lawyer.
