Vera de Gyarfas is a Partner in Mayer Brown's Houston office and a member of the Oil & Gas industry group. She focuses her practice on transactions involving energy projects in Latin America and Africa. Vera represents companies engaged in all kinds of energy projects, handling negotiations of host government agreements as well as commercial agreements among companies in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Vera represents companies in upstream exploration and production, liquefied natural gas and other natural gas projects under all types of host government agreements, including production sharing agreements, concessions/licenses, and operating services agreements. She also advises companies with respect to power projects, generation, transmission and distribution facilities, and advises petrochemical companies in developing specialized plants.
Vera has particular experience in LNG and negotiates and drafts investment agreements for host governments and other parties, analyzes existing regulations and government negotiations, and completes agreements for LNG sales and purchases, gas supply, and terminal usage, among others.
Vera was recognized as a 2016 Women in Energy Honoree by Texas Lawyer, she is ranked in the Legal 500 2018 Powerlist as an expert in Mexico's energy sector and is ranked in Chambers Global 2018 for Energy and Natural Resources as an expert in the US for Venezuela. She was also recommended in Legal 500 Latin America 2018, and listed as a leading practitioner in the International Who’s Who of Oil and Gas Lawyers 2018.
Leopoldo Olavarria is an International Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright US MX, S.C. He has more than 30 years of experience in oil and gas transactions, with a strong focus on cross-border oil and gas projects, assisting clients in assembling portfolios of E&P properties, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and drafting and negotiating oil and natural gas supply agreements. During this time, he has participated in a myriad of projects, from complex, vertically integrated projects, to smaller exploration projects and multijurisdictional transactions.
His experience includes drafting and negotiating agreements to acquire companies or equity participations in hydrocarbon producing interests in Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Panama, Cuba, Argentina, Ecuador and other Latin American and Caribbean countries, and associated due diligence reviews, acquisition agreements (such as earn-in and farm-in agreements) and joint venture agreements (including joint operating agreements and production sharing contracts), project development agreements, and engineering, procurement and construction contracts. He also has significant experience in the areas of competition and commercial law, and international trade and investments.
He was a member of the board of directors of the Venezuelan chapter of the Gas Processors' Association (AVPG) from 2004 to 2012 and led the chapter's legal and tax committee from 2006 to 2012. In that capacity, he acted as coordinator of several publications, including AVPG's 20th anniversary publication entitled "Integral Development of the Venezuelan Natural Gas Industry, a Historical and Legal Review" in November 2004.
Carlos Ramos Miranda is a Partner at Hogan Lovells Mexico He practices general corporate, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), insurance, infrastructure, and energy law in Mexico. He works with clients in many industries on M&A transactions; the Due Diligence Review (DDR) process; negotiating contracts; securing regulatory permits; and post-merger integration issues. He intervenes in important compliance and investigations cases.
Representing infrastructure and energy clients, Carlos advises International oil companies (IOCs), National oil companies (NOCs), and service companies in their transactions and projects. Carlos has participated in more than 20 water projects in Mexico and abroad, and has advised Mexico's national oil company Pemex in the design and implementation of multiple services contracts, incentivized contracts, and, more recently, in Pemex migrations and farm-outs.
Marianna Boza is a transnational attorney authorized to practice in Venezuela and Colombia. She is a Director at Brigard Urrutia and is Head of Mining and O&G. In her capacity, Marianna advises clients around the world on the operations and corporate transactions of upstream, midstream, or downstream energy companies. She has substantial experience advising companies in the oil & gas and petrochemical sectors. She has been involved in major upstream, midstream, and downstream projects in Latin America, advising in the negotiation and drafting of the relevant contracts. Marianna has advised clients in the negotiation, creation, and financing of joint ventures for the development of hydrocarbons and petrochemical activities and the processing of gas in Venezuela and Colombia.
Marianna was the senior legal counsel at Shell Venezuela, actively participating in the downstream business to produce oil by-products. Additionally, she was an in-house attorney in secondment for the legal department of Repsol and ChevronTexaco in Venezuela, where she provided business-focused advice and gained on-site experience.
Marianna actively participates in several binational chambers of commerce and associations of industry and trade; she is currently the vice president of the Board of Directors of the Colombian-Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the director of the Extractive Committee of the Colombian-Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Marianna is also a member of the Latin America Regional Executive Committee Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN).
Diana Sanclemente is a Partner of Sanclemente Fernandez Abogados, where she is recognized for providing timely and highly personalized service. Her practice includes advising pharmaceutical companies, assisting oil and gas, services and mining companies, among others. In addition, she is a member of Board of Directors in different companies including pharmaceutical, oil sector, automotive and financial institutions, as well as a member of AIPN (Association of International Petroleum Negotiators), where she was appointed VP of Regions. 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).