A former Costa Rican government minister is suing a U.S. energy company over a soured oil concession deal that never came to fruition. Roberto Dobles Mora, the former Minister of Environment and Energy, filed a lawsuit in September against Black Hills Corporation (BHC) alleging breach of contract over royalty payments he claims he is owed.
The dispute dates back over a decade to when Dobles entered a consulting agreement with BHC after resigning from his ministerial role in 2009 amidst a separate corruption investigation. As outlined in an exposé by Amelia Rueda, Dobles agreed to advise BHC for $4,000 per month as the company sought oil and natural gas concessions in Costa Rica.
A “Royalty Agreement” was also established entitling Dobles to up to 3% royalties on any oil and gas extracted under the concessions. However, the concessions were never finalized as BHC failed to submit the required environmental impact assessments to move exploration plans forward.
Dobles contends BHC deliberately stalled the concession approval process, hesitant to disclose its overseas fossil fuel interests to stock market analysts and regulators back in the U.S. With the concessions inactive for years, Dobles alleges he lost out on tens of millions in royalty payments he was counting on.
The consulting and royalty agreements relate to exploration rights originally awarded to Mallon Oil Company in 2000 covering over 9,300 square kilometers in northern Costa Rica. BHC acquired Mallon in 2003, inheriting the concessions.
However, BHC struggled to abide by Costa Rica’s stringent environmental policies. Mallon Oil even sued the Costa Rican government in 2011 arguing an environmental impact assessment should not be required simply to begin survey work on the land. Mallon lost this lawsuit on appeal in 2015.
By November 2015, BHC terminated its consulting contract with Dobles but upheld the royalty agreement. In January 2020, after opting not to renew the annual concessions guarantee, BHC lost access to the oil and gas fields completely.
Dobles first faced corruption allegations himself in 2009 when he resigned as Environmental Minister during an investigation into whether he had shown favoritism towards a family-owned mining company. However, he was eventually acquitted of those charges.
Ironically, it was decisions made by Dobles while serving under former president Oscar Arias that opened the door for oil and gas concessions in the first place. This included approving the controversial Crucitas gold mining project in 2008 declaring it in the national interest despite environmental concerns.
The unsuccessful deal with BHC that Dobles is now suing over was crafted in the aftermath of him stepping down from the Arias administration. But Dobles suffered another blow when a U.S. appellate court dismissed the $42 million damages claim against Black Hills Corporation this past October.
With Costa Rica long-considered an eco-friendly bastion, the irony of its former environmental minister pursuing oil concessions after leaving office has not gone unnoticed. And the latest lawsuit only adds another twist to this ongoing saga.
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