The Dakota Scout

The Dakota Scout

Share this post

The Dakota Scout
The Dakota Scout
A former environment and energy minister for Costa Rica is suing a South Dakota energy company. Here's why

A former environment and energy minister for Costa Rica is suing a South Dakota energy company. Here's why

Roberto Dobles is pursuing his claims in federal court

Jonathan Ellis's avatar
Jonathan Ellis
Sep 18, 2022
∙ Paid
5

Share this post

The Dakota Scout
The Dakota Scout
A former environment and energy minister for Costa Rica is suing a South Dakota energy company. Here's why
Share
The federal courthouse in downtown Sioux Falls. (Joe Sneve / The Dakota Scout)

A former environment and energy minister for Costa Rica has filed suit against Rapid City-based Black Hills Corp., alleging he was deprived of millions of dollars of royalty payments.

Roberto Dobles alleges he had a deal with Black Hills to shepherd the approval process that would allow the company to pump as much as a billion barrels of oil in a 2.3 million-acre region in the northern part of the country. But the deal ultimately withered because Black Hills failed to act and then chose not to renew its bond securing the hydrocarbon concessions.

Besides serving as minister of environment and energy, Dobles also served as president and CEO of Costa Rica’s national electric utility and president and CEO of the Costa Rican national oil company.

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to The Dakota Scout to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 The Dakota Scout
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share