ADR AT THE INTERNATIONAL OIL & GAS INDUSTRY, THE PEMEX CASE. (A legal and socio-legal analysis)

This thesis deals with two subject matters: the petroleum industry, also known as Oil & Gas industry, and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods, well known for its acronym “ADR”. The problem which is the object of this research is indeed: the necessity to adapt the ADR mechanisms to the actual situation of the Oil & Gas industry in Mexico, considering not only the legal development but also the cultural, social, legal and political barriers that, in some extend, are blocking the use of such an extraordinary way to settle disputes. The research is focused on the case of Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) which is the Mexican Oil & Gas Company, with a major impact at the international Oil & Gas market. PEMEX is the biggest enterprise in Mexico and Latin America and the highest fiscal contributor to the country. It is one of the few oil companies in the world that develops all the productive chain of the industry, upstream, downstream and final product commercialization. With headquarters in Mexico City, PEMEX is the sole supplier of all commercial gasoline (petrol/diesel) stations in Mexico. This research was thought to deal with legal and socio-legal aspects. The socio-legal science is hardly considered when resolving an international Oil & Gas dispute. Aspects such as: legal culture; human rights; the real justification of the ADR used; the contextualization of the case; the deep analysis of the leading cases; the economic, social and political repercussion of the award, not only for the country but also for the individual unconnected to the dispute; the role of the arbitrator and mediator as the decision-maker; and the perspectives of international Oil & Gas arbitrations and mediations, are some aspects highly recommended to be considered by the ADR participants in an Oil & Gas dispute. This research represents an opportunity to go deeper, in different extends, on the analysis of some of the before mentioned aspects. PEMEX has shown, throughout history, to be a company which disputes were only resolved by national courts and since a pair of decades ago ADR have been lightly considered. Recent history has also shown that PEMEX faces socio-legal obstacles that have prevented it from developing such an advisable industry of the ADR. The previous statements have been the base and justification for the research herein developed, having the target to detect such obstacles to be able to propose some legal and practical solutions to overcome the problem, improving the usage of ADR when resolving PEMEX disputes. The case-law analyzed in this research has served to determine precedents, as well as to set up statistics as for the type of contracts from which the dispute arose, nationality of the parties, the lawyers, the mediators and arbitrators, the amount of the dispute and finally the direction of the award or mediators opinion.