Francisco Mendez is a partner in Mayer Brown’s Global Energy group. Previously, he spent close to 20 years at ExxonMobil Corporation as in-house counsel for Latin America, where he most recently advised the company on the opening of the oil and gas industry in Mexico to the private sector. As a part of this work for ExxonMobil, Francisco provided legal analysis of the changes to the Mexican Constitution, including the Enabling Legislation and regulations. Francisco was also involved in the formation of the Mexican Hydrocarbons Association, the first such industry association in Mexico.

Prior to his leadership role in Mexico, Francisco acted as legal counsel on significant upstream projects in other areas of Latin America, such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Nicaragua, Peru, and Venezuela, leading legal discussions regarding joint bidding agreements, JOAs and areas of mutual interest with national oil and gas companies within Latin America.

Francisco had also acted as general counsel responsible for all downstream activities in Central America and the Caribbean, where he provided legal advice on fuels marketing (including gas stations, marine and airport terminals), and was responsible for two refineries located in El Salvador and Nicaragua. While in this position, he also worked on a downstream corporate restructure and divestments.