Dr Rafael Valdivieso > Bustamante Fabara > Quito, Ecuador > Lawyer Profile

Dr Rafael Valdivieso

+593 998020581 rvaldivieso@bustamantefabara.com

Work Department

Environmental, Energy & Natural Resources

Position

Rafael advises oil and gas companies on various strategic matters to channel their investments through viable legal structures. He is an expert in drafting and negotiating contracts in the oil and mining industry, corporate structuring, project financing, operational agreements, and local and cross-border mergers and acquisitions.

He works with major clients in the oil and mining industry in Ecuador, advising International Oil Companies (IOCs), independent companies, and service companies on project structuring and implementation in Ecuador, Cuba, Venezuela, and Guatemala. Rafael has advised several mining companies on their entry into Ecuador and the development of exploratory projects.

He has been recognized by leading law magazines in the Energy and Natural Resources area for several consecutive years. In 2016, he won the Latin Lawyer’s Deal of the Year (Regulatory) award. Rafael was also appointed Director of the Ecuador chapter of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN), where he led and organized various events with different government authorities in recent years. He is an expert in Administrative Law and has extensive experience in telecommunications regulation matters. Currently, he leads the Energy and Natural Resources department at BUSTAMANTE FABARA.

Career

• 2022 – Present: Partner at Bustamante Fabara
• 2020 – 2022: Partner at Robalino
• 2015 – 2020: Senior Associate at FERRERE Abogados
• 2012 – 2015: Associate at PAZ HOROWITZ ROBALINO GARCES, Abogados

Languages

Spanish and English

Education

• Center for American and International Law, Member of the American and International Law Academy
• Lawyer, San Francisco University of Quito – Ecuador
• Law Studies, University of Salamanca – Salamanca, Spain