All Professionals

Christopher Goncalves

Managing Director

Christopher J. Goncalves, a managing director and chair of BRG’s Energy & Climate practice, has thirty-two years of international experience in the energy and financial industries.

He advises energy industry and financial-sector clients in the areas of strategic business planning, energy transition strategy, commercial strategy, commercial negotiation, economic and market analysis, valuation, regulatory assessments, project development and financing, asset acquisitions and divestitures, and international carbon markets. He also provides energy industry and quantum expert analysis and testimony for international energy arbitration and litigation matters for law firms and industry clients.

As a business advisor, Mr. Goncalves has counseled industry and financial-sector clients on energy infrastructure and commerce, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gases (LPGs), natural gas, oil, conventional power generation, renewable energy, and hydrogen. He is accomplished in providing these services to global energy companies, national energy companies, utilities, state energy agencies, independent developers, equity investors, and banks.

Mr. Goncalves also is a seasoned industry and damages expert with independent analysis, reporting, and testimony experience for significant international arbitration and litigation matters concerning disputed energy prices, markets, commercial standards, valuation, and financing requirements for energy projects, assets, contracts, and transactions. He has provided expert analysis and reports for over fifty pre-dispute and dispute matters under the auspices of ICSID, UNCITRAL, the ICC, ICDR/AAA, the Milan Chamber of Commerce, the Royal Courts of Justice of England and Wales, and US federal courts. Of these, Mr. Goncalves has provided oral testimony in eighteen international investment and commercial disputes. Who’s Who Legal has recognized Mr. Goncalves as a leading energy industry and damages expert for several years and as a global elite thought leader in 2022.

Among his expert witness and business advisory experience, Mr. Goncalves has served as the lead LNG and natural gas market and industry expert to energy companies and their legal counsel for over a dozen LNG and natural gas price reviews and/or price review arbitrations in Europe and Asia. He also has provided LNG commercial strategy for short- and long-term sales pricing, target markets, and priority customers for leading NOCs and US LNG exporters.

Mr. Goncalves recently coauthored the following chapters: “Expert Role in Causation Analysis for Energy Transition Related Arbitration,” in The Investment Treaty Arbitration Review – Edition 6; and “Expert Evidence in Price Reviews and Disputes” in Gas & LNG Price Arbitration 2019. He also has given numerous presentations and has written several articles on LNG and natural gas market, commercial, and pricing conditions worldwide.

His professional experience spans over fifty countries throughout the Americas, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Eurasia, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Within these regions, he offers direct energy market experience in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Algeria, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, Yemen, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Angola, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Namibia, Morocco, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and other countries.

Employment History

Charles River Associates
Vice president, Energy & Environment
2010 – 2012

Navigant
Director, Energy
2004 – 2010

Pace Global Energy Services
Managing director, International Programs, and director, Financial Advisory
1998 – 2004

Crossborder Energy, Inc.
Vice president, International Projects
1993 – 1998

Citicorp
National Corporate Division, Corporate finance associate
1989 – 1991

Professional Affiliations

International Association for Energy Economics

International Bar Association
Associate member

DC Bar Association
Associate member

Phi Beta Kappa

Areas of Expertise

Education

Johns Hopkins University
MA, International Economics

Brown University
BA, International Relations

Recognition

Who’s Who Legal: Global Leader

  • Arbitration 2021 – Expert Witnesses

“He provides very impressive oral testimony. Mr. Goncalves is an outstanding practitioner.”

  • Thought Leaders Global Elite 2020, Arbitration Expert Witnesses
  • Energy Experts 2020

“Christopher Goncalves is an ‘excellent strategist and economist’ who is celebrated for his ‘incredible eye for detail’ and ‘ability to simplify and explain the most complex economic issues.”

  • Financial Advisory and Valuation – Quantum of Damages Experts 2019

“Christopher Goncalves is a leading damages expert in the energy sector, having undertaken appointments worldwide for major energy companies, state energy departments, investors, and banks.”