On March 8, 2023, the Institute for Transnational Law and the Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Business, Law & Policy hosted a distinguished lecture on OPEC within the global energy transition by OPEC General Counsel and Texas Law alum Leonardo Sempertegui (LL.M. ’09).
Leonardo Sempertegui has 18 years of experience in the energy and extractive industries sectors. Sempertegui holds an LL.M. (Master of Laws) from The University of Texas School of Law. He completed his LL.M. with support from the Fulbright Foreign Student Program. He has worked with governments, private corporations, international organizations, academia, and NGOs in administrative law, energy law and infrastructure law deals, and international litigation. He has regional experience in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America.
As General Legal Counsel of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) since 2018, Leonardo Sempertegui leads the efforts of the Organization to support their member countries in energy-related policy and legal areas. Given the importance of the energy transition for resource-rich countries, the OPEC Legal Office has focused its work on sharing information, generating knowledge, and providing professional support on this topic to member countries, other countries in the OPEC+ group, and oil-producing countries in general.