01 Oct Marina Paradela

Over 28 years, Marina has held different management positions at REPSOL and CEPSA, as legal and commercial manager of countless operations and transactions in the energy sector in Latin America, Europe, North Africa and Southeast Asia. She has developed recognized competencies in this field, including energy policies, negotiation and drafting of contracts for new business and field services, EPC, technology transfer, joint ventures, corporate structures in multiple jurisdictions, foreign investment regime, M&A, Due Diligence and risk assessment, with extensive experience in leadership and coordination of multidisciplinary and multicultural teams throughout complex processes.
Since 2016, she is an independent advisor for energy companies, international consultancy firms, law firms and governments, participating in the identification, development, financing and operation of sustainable international oil and gas projects, LNG, renewable energy, emission reduction strategies and diverse opportunities in the energy transition to a decarbonized economy.
Experience
Marina began her career in Argentina, as legal advisor to TEXACO in the oil opening process that led the company to the acquisition of several exploration and production blocks (1991-1992). Following her move to REPSOL, she actively participated in the expansion of the Group in Latin America, responsible for the corporate establishment and supervision of legal and contractual aspects in different countries of the region, such as Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Brazil (1992-1998). She was also part of REPSOL’s team at ATLANTIC LNG, one of LNG’s largest integrated projects in the world, in charge of negotiating contracts with the Government of Trinidad Tobago and maritime charter policies for meth vessels (1999-2001).
At CEPSA, Marina was responsible for creating the Department of Legal Affairs of Exploration and Production, being its director for twelve years and developing a team of 15 in-house lawyers in Madrid and Bogotá (2001-2013). In that role, she was responsible for the negotiation and monitoring of new business and operations contracts, corporate establishment and coordination of legal teams in numerous countries, such as Colombia, Peru, Algeria, Egypt, the Netherlands, Brazil, Yemen and Thailand. She subsequently assumed the position of Commercial Manager in New Business, as part of the multidisciplinary team responsible for the acquisition of an offshore portfolio in Brazil, Suriname and Liberia (2014-2015).
At present, she is Director of Energy, Mining, Natural Resources and Environmental Law at LUPICINIO International Law Firm with headquarters in Madrid, representative in Spain of DENTONS RATTAGAN MACCHIAVELLO AROCENA Lawyers in Argentina, Associate Consultant of SGS, a world leader in certification, verification and environment, and Associate of CHANCE AND CHOICES (CHao), a company for strategic consulting and sustainable business evaluation.
Relevant Projects
• Senegal-Mauritania. Cross-border unitization and development of the Grand Tortue-Ahmeyin offshore gas field. She advises the Government of Senegal on the certification of reserves, field development plan and negotiation of unitization contract and SPA with BP. Institutional Capability Development Program of the World Bank Group.
• Argentina. Vaca Muerta. Advises local operator on portfolio design, SPA and global LNG sales strategy.
• Spain. Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to a refinery in for energy efficiency. Technology contracts for pilot project.
• Cuba. Mariel Solar. Drafting and negotiation of financing contracts, joint venture and EPC for Shanghai Electric in the construction and operation of 50MW PV solar plant in the Mariel Development Zone. Investment advice.
• Spain. 260MW PV Solar plant project. Advised Shanghai Electric on the acquisition process. Risk assessment, due diligence, purchase contract, PPA and financial structure.
• Argentina. RenovAR bidding rounds. Evaluation of the investment framework, PPA, FODER (Renewable Energy Development Fund), Trust Agreement and Guarantee of the World Bank Group. Risk analysis of the BICE (Investment and Foreign Trade Bank).
• Argentina. Long Term Energy Planning. Advised a group of international investors in analysis of the impact of energy efficiency and savings on the demand scenarios proposed by the Government. Assessment of technical and comercial risks.

• Spain-Algeria. Medgaz. Deep-water gas pipeline in the Mediterranean. Supervision of legal and contractual structure in the study and evaluation stage until project integration.
• Trinidad Tobago. Atlantic LNG (2&3). Responsible for the negotiation of contracts with the Government of Trinidad Tobago, shareholder agreements and six LNG ship maritime charter policies on behalf of Repsol.
• Algeria. Ourhoud unitization. Negotiation of Unitization Agreements. Redetermination process with Sonatrach and international oil companies.
• Colombia. Oleoducto Central S.A. (Ocensa). Corporate acquisition. Modification of the business model. Corporate restructuring. Renegotiation of Transport Contracts and Shareholder Agreement.
Educación
Lawyer and Attorney – Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) – 1991
(Equivalence to Law Degree in Spain 2017)
Postgraduate Degree in Negotiation – Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA) – 1992
Certificate of Petroleum Geology – University of Texas – 2015
Energy Risk Professional (ERP®) – Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) – 2017
Economic Policymaking – EI Business School – 2018
She has completed numerous courses on international contracts, energy policies, finance, business administration, international taxation, energy tax systems, M&A and project evaluation.
Merits and Recognitions
Member of the Committees of Model Contracts for LNG SPA and Unitization of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN).
Collaborator in the writer team of the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP).
Finalist of the Gold Award in the Corporate Lawyer category awarded by Iberian Lawyer in recognition of excellence in the practice of the legal profession in Spain and Portugal (2016).
Regular collaborator of legal and energy publications, with articles such as “Gas Market in the United States: Administrative and Fiscal Framework such as Success Factor Parts I and II (abogados.com.ar, 2020) and “Market of Renewable Energy in Argentina two years later: balance and perspectives” (Energy Notebook No. 54, Spanish Energy Club-Enerclub, 2018), among others..
Guest lecturer in the topics LNG SPA and Project Evaluation in the Postgraduate Program on Hydrocarbon Law of the Universidad Austral, Argentina.
Languages
Spanish, English, French, Italian and Portuguese.