Founder’s Experience

Advising a shareholder in a joint venture project to construct a multi-billion dollar petrochemical facility in the Middle East involving three national sponsors.

Acting for the owner of a large plastics chemical complex in the Gulf region.

Supporting a national energy company operating ammonia and LPG plants in the Middle East.

Advising a shareholder in the expansion of a major refinery in the Gulf region.

Supporting a client in the Middle East on the potential development of various alternative energy projects, including blue ammonia.

Providing post-construction legal support to owner-shareholders of large-scale facilities, including gas-to-liquids projects in Qatar and Nigeria. 

Advising a state-owned energy company in the Gulf region in relation to a blue ammonia project with a major international energy company.

Advising on the construction and development of a 400km+ crude oil pipeline and storage facilities project by a national energy company based in the Middle East.

Representing a client partnering with a state-owned recycling company to develop and construct a recycling plant in the Middle East.   

Representing a state-owned entity on the development and construction of a methanol and derivatives project in the Gulf region with a potential Saudi partner. 

Advising a national energy company in the Middle East on a renewable project with a Korean partner to explore a potential blue ammonia project.

Supporting a client in the Gulf region on the development of a major petrochemical complex in partnership with a national regulatory entity.

Advising a petrochemical facility owner in the assessment of a major expansion project involving natural gas liquids.

Representing a national energy company based in the Middle East in the potential development with a Chinese entity of a polymer facility with associated feedstock supply.  

Advising a client in the Middle East on the development of a potential thermal storage project with a state-owned port company.

Advising several state-owned energy companies in the Middle East, and private entities in South Africa and the UK, on expansion projects, new plant construction, oil and gas exploration, technology trials, and green energy initiatives.

Representing a London-based energy trading entity on business development opportunities relating to crude oil procurement, shipping, and derivatives trading.

Managing the customer accreditation process for a London-based client, including third-party due diligence and external stakeholder engagement.

Supporting a UK-based client with all governance-related matters, including updating delegations of authority, board approvals, and corporate decision-making frameworks.

Advising a national energy company in the Middle East on all governance related requirements, board submissions, committee documentation, and internal approvals.

Assisting clients in South Africa and the Middle East with corporate restructurings and acquisitions, and advising on related compliance issues.

Improving a London-based trading client’s internal audit rating from “C” to “A” in under 4 months by updating internal policies and procedures related to governance, finance, hedging, procurement, and shipping and conducting stakeholder training and engagements.

Serving as a member of governance committees including credit risk, economic crime, and claims for clients in South Africa and the Middle East.

Appointed as board secretary for London based client. 

Appointed as claims committee secretary for client based in the Middle East. 

Providing day-to-day legal support to clients across various jurisdictions in areas such as marketing, retail, refining, tank and storage, logistics, insurance, property, supply chain, and commercial strategy.

Providing daily support to the procurement function of a national energy company in the Middle East on matters including supply of goods (e.g. catalysts, additives), equipment, services, technology licensing and others.

Drafting and negotiating crude oil and petroleum product supply agreements (spot and term contracts) with suppliers from around the world for a London-based client.

Supporting a UK based client on shipping-related agreements and disputes, including charterparty agreements and vessel procurement (spot and term contracts).

Supporting a 50% shareholder in the on-going management of a joint venture entity operating a refinery in the Middle East.

Working closely with legal teams from Shell, BP, Total, Chevron, and others in connection with joint venture projects and day-to-day commercial matters.

Providing legal support to a major South African energy company on joint venture and affiliate matters in the USA, Netherlands, Canada, Nigeria, and India.

Advising various joint ventures and associations in South Africa including the OR Tambo International Airport Consortium and the South African Petroleum Industry Association.

Advising joint venture shareholder clients on various reserved matters such as approvals, corporate governance, and business decisions.

Advising on and negotiating settlements of major project claims and disputes (in excess of USD 210 million) with engineering, procurement and construction contractors for a client in the Gulf region .

Supporting a South African-based client in reducing a litigation register backlog of over 68 active matters to zero.

Assisting a South African-based client in resolving and closing out over 120 active forensic legal matters to zero.

Representing a South African-listed energy company in the recovery of substantial amounts from major tanker operators and listed logistics providers.

Providing comprehensive compliance support to a London-based client involved in petroleum products and derivatives trading, covering GDPR, FSMA, anti-trust, anti-bribery and corruption, anti-money laundering, sanctions, and broader UK/EU regulatory obligations.

Advising a European client on US, UK, and EU sanctions law in relation to its ongoing business activities.

Advising a client in the Middle East with sanctions risk assessments tied to new commercial opportunities (preparing detailed advice reports).

Providing in-house compliance support for register development and management (e.g. gifts and hospitality) for a London based entity.

Acting as in-house risk and compliance advisor to clients in South Africa and the Middle East.

Supporting a UK-based client in developing a comprehensive legal and regulatory landscape across applicable UK laws.

Assisting a South African client with its compliance related obligations and simultaneously ensuring it avoided registration as a credit provider under the National Credit Act.

Delivering training to procurement and contracting teams of a client based in the Middle East on contract basics, commercial risk, and claims management.

Providing internal workshops on settlement agreements and lessons learned to the in-house teams of a client based in the Middle East.

Conducting legislative update sessions for a major South African energy company, including training on contract negotiation and execution.

Drafting and launching a new innovative template suite of agreements for the core commercial contracts and procurement functions of a South African based client and conducting associated training.

Delivering legal training on the full project lifecycle and best practices in dispute avoidance and resolution.

Part of the London based team representing a Malaysian international investor in a USD 2 billion arbitration against a North African national energy company.

Advising a national energy company in the Middle East on the potential acquisition of a refinery and terminal in the Gulf region.

Part of the London based team supporting a Southern African national energy company in a USD 2 billion international arbitration with a shareholder partner.

Advising a Central American national energy company on the acquisition of a participating interest in offshore oil and gas fields.

Supporting and advising the government of a Central African country in the implementation of its first production sharing agreement for oil and gas.

Advising a major oil company on the partial divestment of its interest in natural gas fields and infrastructure in Southern Africa.

Acting as board secretary for a London-based client, co-ordinating meetings with directors from multiple jurisdictions, supporting in board meetings and preparing all board submissions and associated documentation.

Managing board reporting, meeting arrangements, minute-taking, and company secretarial compliance for a UK-based client.

Serving as claims committee secretary for a major national energy company in the Middle East.

Advising on commercial transactions in the mining, aviation, and energy sectors in South Africa, as well as crude oil trading (spot and term) and equipment supply and installation in London and the Middle East.

Supporting a major South African energy company in several commercial transactions involving listed mining companies and airlines.

Advising the public affairs team of a listed South African energy company in relation to several sponsorship related matters including the sponsorship of a racing championship in South Africa. 

Advising a state-owned client in the Middle East on marketing and offtake projects linked to downstream facility development in the region.

Drafting and negotiating high-profile sponsorship agreements for a client based in the Gulf region. 

Providing legal support on social investment initiatives, corporate responsibility, employment law, and retail operations, among others.