Santiago Sepulveda is a partner in the Mexico City office and leads the Firm’s Project Development & Finance practice.
Mr. Sepulveda has ample experience representing Mexican and transnational clients in the structuring, development and financing of large oil and gas, power, telecomm and transport infrastructure projects in Mexico, as well as in specialized M&A transactions and private equity investments.
Most recently, Mr. Sepulveda represented KKR, the U.S. private equity fund, in structuring and negotiating with Pemex, Mexico’s O&G company, a complex, first-of-its-kind US$1.2 billion sale-leaseback transaction involving upstream E&P assets. Also of note is Mr. Sepulveda’s representation of the Consortium formed by Sierra Oil & Gas SRL de CV, Talos Energy LLC and Premier Oil PLC in Mexico’s first bidding process of upstream contracts since the Energy Reform, which opened up the oil & gas industry to private investment for the first time in nearly a century.
Mr. Sepulveda represents major energy companies, project developers, engineering and construction companies, as well as lenders and investors in infrastructure projects in Mexico. In addition to his recognized project finance expertise, Mr. Sepulveda is regularly engaged to advise sponsors, developers, investors and financiers in all their project’s permitting, regulatory compliance, commercial and contractual aspects. He also represents clients in connection with the acquisition or divestiture of interests and assets in energy and transportation related projects and businesses, and assists them with the regulatory and competition aspects of their matters. Mr. Sepulveda regularly represents private equity funds investing in natural resource and energy projects with acquisitions, divestitures, regulatory matters and legal aspects of their day-to day operations.
Mr. Sepulveda has been recognized as a leading practitioner in the fields of Energy, Natural Resources, Projects and Project Finance by Chambers Latin America, The International Who’s Who of Energy Lawyers, IFLR1000, Latin Lawyer 250 and Best Lawyers.
Mr. Sepulveda is a member of the Mexican Bar Association and of the International Bar Association. Mr. Sepulveda worked as Foreign Associate in the New York office of Mayer Brown.
Mr. Sepulveda was born in Mexico City, Mexico, where he received his law degree (JD) from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México in 1996 and later obtained his LL.M degree from Columbia University Scholl of Law in 1998. He is fluent in Spanish and English.