Enagás succeeds in having ICSID raise the compensation to be paid by Peru to US$302 million

The international dispute between Spanish energy company Enagás and the Peruvian State over the cancellation of the Gasoducto Sur Peruano (GSP) project in 2017 has taken a new turn in favor of the company. The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has issued a rectification decision that increases the compensation to $302 million, after initially setting it at $194 million in December 2024.
The increase responds to the sum of an additional $104 million in damages, interest and legal costs, as reported by Enagás on May 26 in a relevant fact sent to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). The company considers the decision to be "very good news", in the words of its CEO Arturo Gonzalo Aizpiri.

The case dates back to the unilateral termination of the GSP contract by Peru, following the corruption scandal involving Odebrecht, majority shareholder of the consortium awarded the project. Enagás held a 25% stake and filed the claim with ICSID in 2018, arguing violations of the Bilateral Investment Treaty between Spain and Peru.

The arbitral tribunal was chaired by Argentine Diego Fernández Arroyo, with arbitrators Andrés Jana (Chilean-Portuguese) and Claus von Wobeser (Mexico), the latter with a dissenting vote. The majority concluded that Peru did not grant fair and equitable treatment and committed undue expropriation. In addition, the State was found to have unjustly prevented the repatriation of dividends from Enagás in relation to another project, Transportadora de Gas del Perú (TGP), also in violation of the fair treatment standard.

Enagás was represented by the law firms Linklaters (in Washington D.C. and Madrid) and CMS Grau (in Lima), while Peru was defended by Arnold & Porter. So far, the Peruvian State has not commented publicly on the decision, as the award is subject to a possible annulment process.

In addition to the GSP case, Enagás has another arbitration ongoing since 2021 before ICSID, also related to Peruvian State measures affecting the TGP project. In addition, there are pending claims by Odebrecht and the GSP consortium.