On 30 April 2008, Perenco Ecuador Limited (“Perenco”) filed a request for arbitration with ICSID against the Republic of Ecuador (“Ecuador”) and Empresa Estatal Petróleos del Ecuador (“Petroecuador”; together, “the Respondents”). The dispute between the parties arises out of a series of measures adopted by the Respondents which, according to Perenco, are in breach of Ecuador’s obligations under the Agreement on the reciprocal promotion and protection of investments concluded between France and Ecuador on 7 September 1994 (hereinafter, “the Treaty” or “the BIT”) and affects its rights under two Participation Contracts. One of these is a Participation Contract for the Exploration and Exploitation of Hydrocarbons in Block 7 of the Amazon Region, including the Contract for the Coca-Payamino Unified Field (“the Block 7 Participation Contract” or “the Block 7 Contract”), and the other is a Participation Contract for Exploration and Exploitation of Hydrocarbons in Block 21 of the Amazon River (“the Block 21 Participation Contract” or “the Block 21 Contract”), (together, the two contracts will be referred as “the Participation Contracts” or “the Contracts”).