About

Multinational energy behemoth Chevron is one of the largest producers of natural gas in Colombia. Through a partnership with Ecopetrol, Colombia’s national oil company, Chevron supplies almost 25% of the country’s energy demands. One of its subsidiaries, Chevron Petroleum Company, operates the Texaco brand that has a nationwide network of nearly 420 service stations, as well as important market shares in automotive fuels, aviation fuel and lubricants. The increasingly competitive energy market in Colombia has seen the importance of Chevron’s legal team grow, especially as the company has such a significant role to play in the industry. Sergio Herrera, legal manager upstream, is part of a Chevron legal team that has supported the company in a complex and sometimes challenging regulatory landscape. The upstream legal team is responsible for the continued operation of production activities, which are focused on three natural gas fields – one offshore and two onshore. As a company, Chevron is known to employ some of the best legal talent in the world, and the Colombian team is a good example of this model – one nominator described the team as ‘highly trained professionals with an extraordinary level of performance’. The team handles all cases, claims, arbitrations, investigations and major complex litigation activities involving Chevron companies, working in close collaboration with external counsel when necessary. One such external lawyer described the team’s constructive approach to litigation: ‘The Chevron legal team’s approach to problems is strategic: they take care of their relationship with different government entities, so they do not propose discussions without legal basis. This is a very thorough team when it comes to reviewing the legal background and normative interpretations, before proposing a litigation’.