The golden age of abundant, easy-to-access oil is over and, as a result, international oil and gas companies must search for new and more complex oil and gas provinces. Moreover, independent companies are adopting an even broader approach as they analyse unconventional plays. The 21st-century oil and gas industry increasingly demands a global approach as companies - both major and small - compete on the international stage.

This fully updated second edition of our practical handbook, now in two volumes, takes an in-depth look at the most relevant petroleum provinces, summarising upstream regulation and key concerns in over 30 important and emerging oil and gas jurisdictions. Issues featured include the key terms of petroleum law, the types of legal arrangement in place, the fiscal terms, how to qualify to acquire acreage, governing law, dispute resolution mechanisms, decommissioning and governmental control. As a result, the book provides a comprehensive global resource for upstream investments. New areas of coverage for this edition include Algeria, Ecuador, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco and Oman.

Many entities are keen to analyse and assess opportunities all over the world and so this book will appeal to a range of participants, including international oil companies, independents, national oil and gas companies, legal advisers and consultants, who need to understand the general requirements of oil and gas provinces and the respective best practices across the globe.

Ivar Alvik
Professor, University of Oslo
[email protected]

Ivar Alvik is a professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law since 2014, associate professor from 2011. He has several years of experience as a practising lawyer working mostly with disputes in the shipping and offshore sector. His main work areas are contract law, national and international arbitration, petroleum and energy law and international investment law. He is responsible for the teaching of contract law, petroleum law and international investment law at the University of Oslo, and is frequently used as a legal advisor or expert in these fields. He also has experience as an arbitrator in both national and international disputes.

Dario Arias
Director, Resources Energy Consulting
[email protected]

Dario Arias is co-founder and partner at Resources Energy Consulting based in South America, and former senior counsel of Qatar Petroleum (QP). He holds an LLM in mineral law and policy of the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy, University of Dundee (Scotland) and an LLM in business law from Austral University (Argentina).
He has been involved with a number of teams that have negotiated transactions for over 15 years mainly in mining and oil and gas; and he has participated in the discussion and drafting of several oil and gas regulations. He also worked as an E&P in-house counsel for YPF, Repsol, Petrobras, BG Group and QP in South America and the MENA Region. He has performed as arbitrator and counsel in a number of dispute resolution proceedings involving IOCs. He lectures and has written for a number of oil and gas, mining and environment publications.

Muhammad Arif
Managing partner, Arif and Associates
[email protected]

Mr Muhammad Arif holds degrees of MBA from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland, UK, LLM in petroleum law and policy from the Centre for Energy, Petroleum & Mineral Law & Policy (CEPMLP), University of Dundee, Scotland, UK, and a postgraduate diploma in petroleum economics from the University of Oxford, England. He is enrolled as an advocate by the Punjab Bar Council, Pakistan and President of the Energy Lawyers Association of Pakistan. Mr Arif has published several articles covering Pakistan’s petroleum policies and fiscal systems. He is also the main author of Energy Law in Pakistan published by Wolters Kluwer, Netherlands, and contributed a chapter on Pakistan in the first edition of this book. Mr Arif has more than three decades of diversified experience in varying disciplines such as corporate affairs, joint ventures affairs, full cycle legal and regulatory compliance of upstream oil and gas industry including over 12 years at senior management level and is currently heading an independent energy law and consultancy firm.

Raul A Baldivia
Managing partner, Baldivia Unzaga & Asociados
[email protected]

Raul Baldivia is a Bolivian lawyer. He has more than 20 years’ extensive experience advising foreign investors on oil and gas law, international arbitration, international consulting and the nationalisation of assets by host states. He has participated in the drafting and discussion of several oil and gas regulations for pipelines, rates, gas reinjection, right of way and open access rules, regulations of free competition and advised the government in the negotiation of bilateral investment treaties. He is an arbitrator of the Bolivian Chamber of Commerce.
Mr Baldivia holds an LLM in International Legal Studies (Fulbright scholarship) from the Washington College of Law at American University. He has been a law school professor and a lecturer at several universities (Universidad Privada Boliviana, Universidad Católica and Universidad Andina) and a keynote speaker at international seminars.
For several years Mr Baldivia has been named as a leading lawyer in Bolivia by Chambers & Partners’ Global and Latin American directories. He also acts as of counsel of the Mexican law firm Wöss & Partners International Arbitration, Trade and Infrastructure Group.

Nigel Bankes
Professor of law, University of Calgary
[email protected]

Nigel Bankes is a Professor of law at the University of Calgary where he holds the chair in natural resources law. He also has an adjunct appointment at the University of Tromsø, Norway with the KG Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea. His principal research interests are in the areas of water law, oil and gas and energy law, international environmental law, law of the sea and indigenous peoples’ law. He is an active contributor to the Faculty’s blog, Ablawg.ca where he posts on these research areas.

Esteban Baquero
Associate, Ferrere
[email protected]

Esteban Baquero is an associate at Ferrere’s offices in Quito, Ecuador, and is a member of the labour, litigation, finance, environment and oil and gas teams of the firm.
Before joining Ferrere, Esteban worked for Schlumberger del Ecuador SA, in the area of contracts, gaining experience on the commercial, contractual and hydrocarbons industry. Esteban focuses his practice on labour matters, both in administrative and judicial proceedings. He also participates actively in diverse litigation cases representing domestic and foreign clients. Esteban collaborates on financial matters and advises clients on environmental and oil and gas matters.
He graduated with honours as a lawyer from Universidad San Francisco de Quito in 2015, where his dissertation focused on the analysis of the Ecuadorian regulatory scheme of the environmental impact assessment to determine whether it consolidated the principle of preventive action, emphasising that the activities subject to the evaluation are performed within natural protected areas.

José de Barros
Attorney at law, Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos, Empresa Pública; SIGMA Consultores
[email protected]

José de Barros is a fully licensed Mozambican attorney at Law with more than fifteen years’ experience in the petroleum sector in Mozambique, as legal adviser to government entities and as a private lawyer. His areas of expertise include oil and gas, energy, mining, international negotiations and administrative law, where he has gained extensive experience in legal issues related to petroleum industry, energy regulations and mining sector.
Mr de Barros is a workshop lecturer and has considerable experience in formulating and negotiating agreements related to petroleum operations such as natural gas sales, transportation, supply, pipelines, operating agreements, joint venture agreements and concession contracts.
Since June 2014, he has worked as an independent lawyer at SIGMA Consultores, a Mozambique-based firm, advising primarily on energy, petroleum, investment and administrative law. He is currently employed at the Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH) EP, a wholly owned state company where he is the negotiations manager. He is also a board member at Portos de Cabo Delgado, SA and ENH Integrated Logistic Services, SA an affiliate and subsidiary of ENH. Mr de Barros is involved in the Mozambique liquefied natural gas projects to be developed in the Rovuma Basin and in the negotiation of new concession contracts for Mozambique.

Igor Bogdanich
Partner, Allens
[email protected]

Igor has an excellent reputation as a leading energy and resources specialist, and is Allens’ oil and gas sector leader. Igor’s expertise spans mining and oil and gas law, joint ventures, resources project acquisitions and disposals, state agreements, project development and restructuring, commodity marketing and energy agreements. Igor is regularly recognised by independent publications, including Chambers Global, Best Lawyers, Who’s Who Energy Expert Energy Guides and Doyle’s Guides as a leading energy and resources lawyer in Australia. Igor’s experience includes working on all aspects of Rio Tinto’s development of the multi-billion dollar Oyu Tolgoi copper project in Mongolia, the restructuring of the joint venture and shareholder arrangements for the $34 billion Ichthys LNG Project and the acquisitions of interests in the QCLNG and GLNG projects in Queensland.

Justyna Bremen
Senior expertise lawyer, Ashurst
[email protected]

Justyna Bremen is a senior expertise lawyer in the resources and utilities group in London. She has extensive experience in the energy sector, covering both power and oil and gas, with a particular interest in upstream oil and gas, renewables and downstream gas and electricity market regulation.

Michael Burns
Partner, Ashurst
[email protected]

Michael Burns is a partner in the resources and utilities group at Ashurst in London. He is a transactional lawyer with a focus on the energy sector. Michael’s experience includes advising multinational corporates, financial institutions, governments and individuals across the upstream, downstream, LNG and power elements of the energy value chain. He focuses on mergers and acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, major projects and commercial contracts. Michael is a committee member of the International Bar Association’s UK Energy Lawyers Group and is listed as a Leading Individual for oil and gas in the independent directory, Legal 500. The Legal 500 2015 noted that he “knows the industry inside out”.

Seyram Dzikunu
Senior associate, Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah
[email protected]; [email protected]

Seyram Dzikunu is a senior associate of the energy and natural resource practice group of Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah, which is the largest and leading law firm in Ghana. She has seven years’ extensive experience in corporate transactions relating to oil and gas, power and mining. She has worked on most of the highprofile oil and gas deals in Ghana in recent years, and played a leading role in acting for and advising a range of companies, from major multinationals to indigenous small-to-medium enterprises, in the oil and gas, power and mining sectors. Her experience includes: advising on and negotiating the terms of petroleum agreements, gas sales agreements, power purchase agreements, interconnection agreements, fuel supply agreements, joint venture agreements and petroleum and power finance and related security agreements. She is currently pursuing an LLM in petroleum law and policy at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy, University of Dundee; holds an LLB and BA from the University of Ghana and is a member of the
Ghana bar.

Paolo Esposito
Director, Rosário Consulting Group
[email protected]

Paolo Esposito holds a master’s in law (Naples) and an LLM (London) He is an avvocato (Italy), a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (London). Mr Esposito has wide experience in both domestic and international disputes, and specialises in the resolution of a wide range of commercial and investment disputes through complex and multi-party arbitrations, including matters under bilateral investment treaties and the Energy Charter Treaty. He has also experience as a mediator and a member of arbitration panels.
Mr Esposito focuses on offshore oil and gas and mining issues, and is special counsel and business consultant for several mining companies and contractors operating in the Sub-Saharan region. In addition, he teaches international arbitration at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in London and has published articles on arbitration topics.

Ben Ewing
Partner, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
[email protected]

Ben Ewing heads up the CMS Office in the Sultanate of Oman. His practice encompasses all aspects of energy, projects and construction (with a particular focus on the oil and gas industry), including the representation of government entities, public companies and private businesses. Mr Ewing has represented public and private companies in all phases of their domestic and international business and has worked on joint ventures, infrastructure projects, financings and acquisitions and disposals for clients in a wide variety of structures and in a number of countries. Mr Ewing has been based within the Middle East for over eight years, working throughout the various jurisdictions of the GCC and wider MENA region (including the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Lebanon). Mr Ewing received his LLB with honours from the University of Durham in 2000. He was admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales in 2007.

Aboubacar Fall
Managing partner, FALL Partners Law Offices
[email protected]

Dr Aboubacar Fall is a former member of the Paris Bar and is currently a managing partner at FALL Partners Law Offices in Dakar (Senegal). He holds an LLM from the University of Washington (Seattle), a PhD in international business law from the University of Haute-Normandie in Rouen (France) and a master’s degree in international transportation from the University of Paris- Sorbonne (France). He also holds a certificate in oil and gas policy and resource management from the PETRAD Institute in Stavanger (Norway). Dr Fall has served for ten years as principal legal counsel at the legal department of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group. He also served as chairman of the management board of the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF). In all these positions he worked on oil and gas projects both onshore and offshore. He is a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN) and has published extensively on oil and gas law and contracts-related topics. Dr Fall is the director of the online course on governance of extractive industries at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).

Samuel E Fubara
Associate, Thompson & Knight LLP
[email protected]

Samuel Fubara is an associate in the oil and gas section of Thompson & Knight, LLP in Dallas, Texas. His practice focuses on oil and gas matters, ranging from the purchase and sale of oil and gas assets to finance arrangements involving oil and gas assets. Prior to joining Thompson & Knight, Mr Fubara was a legal intern at the Mississippi Center for Justice, and a law clerk at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
Mr Fubara holds a JD from Northwestern University School of Law, where he was an associate editor of the Journal of International Human Rights, and a BA from Georgetown University.

Bent Ole Gram Mortensen
Chair in commercial law including especially environmental and energy law, University of Southern Denmark
[email protected]

Professor Bent Ole Gram Mortensen (PhD) holds a chair in “Commercial Law, including especially Environmental and Energy Law” at the University of Southern Denmark. For the last 27 years, Gram Mortensen has been engaged in the legal aspects of energy, upstream as well as downstream, including the legal problems in connection with the exploitation of oil and natural gas in Denmark and Greenland. He has written and contributed to a large number of articles and books in English, Danish and German, having dealt with legal matters on both a national and EU level. Professor Gram Mortensen has in the past worked for The Danish Ministry of Justice, as a solicitor in private law firms and as a legal manager for Maersk Drilling. At present, he is Vice Chairman of the Danish Energy Board of Appeal and Chairman of the Valuation Authorities in the Region of Southern Denmark in compliance with the Renewable Energy Act.

Miriam Grunstein
Chief energy counsel, Brilliant Energy Consulting
[email protected]

Miriam Grunstein PhD, is chief energy counsel at Brilliant Energy Consulting, non-resident scholar at the Baker Institute Mexico Center, and professor and researcher at the Universidad Panamericana. She also teaches part-time at the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas. Her consulting and research focus on energy law, public regulation, administrative law and international transactions. Grunstein practised energy law in the Mexico City offices of several international law firms and represented energy companies in various transactions. Her legal publications include books and articles on energy law, especially related to hydrocarbons. She also served as a consultant on energy regulation to the Mexican Senate, PEMEX and Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission. In 2012, she won the Fernando Cuevas Prize, awarded by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, for the best essay on energy and climate change.

Samir Hadjiyev
Director, PwC Azerbaijan
[email protected]

Samir Hadjiyev is a director and head of legal practice at the law department at PwC Azerbaijan. He holds degrees in law and commerce, and has specialised in finance, corporate, commercial finance and investment law.
Before joining PwC, Samir was the partner with a regional law firm, managing the firm’s office in Azerbaijan for a number of years. Prior to that, he was the representative of an international law firm and managed the Baku Office. Samir advised clients in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan on various issues related to finance, corporate, investment, commercial, labour, subsoil use and intellectual property. He has also held key management positions in various insurance companies. Samir was heavily involved in drafting the law on insurance activities.

Madjedi Hasan
Petroleum industry consultant
[email protected]

Madjedi Hasan received his mining engineering degree from the Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) in 1959 and his master’s degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma, USA in 1961. He also has master’s of law and doctorate degrees in business law from the University of Pajajaran, Indonesia. Madjedi Hasan has more than 50 years’ experience in upstream petroleum activities as manager, negotiator and educator.
Upon receiving his master’s degree, he joined ITB and also lectured in the technical faculty of Gajah Mada University. In 1966 he joined PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia (Chevron’s subsidiary) and during the 24 years of his service he received assignments in Indonesia and overseas including holding various key positions in the company, such as vice president of special projects (his last position prior to retirement) and was a technical member of a negotiating team for contract extension.
Following his retirement, he now keeps active in the petroleum industry as a consultant. In addition, he is also a listed arbitrator in Badan Arbitration Nasional Indonesia (Indonesia Arbitration Institute). He wrote numerous articles on petroleum upstream activity and technology and arbitration, for presentation in various seminars and journals both in Indonesia and overseas. He has written more than 100 papers on petroleum activities, presented in various seminars and published three books on Indonesia petroleum contracts.

Ahmed Mousa Jiyad
Independent development consultant and scholar
[email protected]

Ahmed Mousa Jiyad, an Iraqi Norwegian, is an independent development consultant and scholar, founder and owner of Development Consultancy and Research, Norway. He has been, and still is, professionally cooperating with many Iraqi, regional and international companies, organisations, institutes, media, civil society organisations and a variety of other entities. Jiyad holds a BSc in economics (University of Baghdad), a postgraduate diploma in planning (University of Birmingham, UK), an MSc in development studies (University of Bath, UK) and an MA from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts and Harvard universities, USA).
He has over 40 years of extensive international professional and academic experience working with governments, local governments, academic institutions, private sector, NGO and international organisations in Iraq, UK, USA, Norway, and with UN organisations in Africa and the Middle East. He left Iraq for the US in July 1988 as Fulbright Hubert H Humphrey Visiting Fellow. Jiyad is an active scholar with regular participation in international conferences, workshops, seminars and related events. He has written and publishes widely on energy and other developmental issues, and he is a regular contributor to academic, professional and industry journals and periodicals including Guest Editor of the International Journal of Contemporary Iraqi Studies. Most of his contributions and publications can be found online, mostly on www.iraq-businessnews.com/category/oil-gas/ahmed-mousa-jiyad/.

Renelle Joffe
Partner, Meitar Liquornik Geva Leshem Tal
[email protected]

Renelle is a partner at Meitar Liquornik Geva Leshem Tal Law firm where she heads the Energy Practice.
Renelle has an in depth understanding of the energy industry in Israel, with extensive experience in negotiating international energy deals in the Eastern Mediterranean and expertise in the regulatory framework governing the offshore gas discoveries. This expertise has been gained while representing international companies working offshore on exploration and development projects, leaseholders and operators and companies farming into licenses; all against the backdrop of a constantly evolving regulatory framework in this sector.
Renelle has over 15 years of experience in the energy sector. Prior to joining Meitar in 2008, she was legal advisor for natural gas in the Israel Electric Corporation, the integrated electricity utility.
Renelle is ranked as a “Leading Lawyer” for Israel’s Project & Energy Practice by the Legal 500 and ranked in Band 1 of Israel’s Projects and Energy: Oil & Gas in Chambers Global.

Ibragim Kouky
Lawyer, Grata Law Firm
[email protected]

Ibragim Kouky graduated from University of London (City Law School) in 2015 and London School of Business & Finance with distinction (LLM), 2013. Prior to joining Grata, he worked at EY, global professional services firm; Linkage & Mind LLP, law firm and Euro Oil Kazakhstan LLP, a company associated with one of the largest producers of petrochemicals.
Ibragim advised on the acquisition of interest associated with the subsoil use right involving bank financing, advised one of the biggest energy and petroleum companies (PRC) on credit facility agreement, represented a concrete plant (subsidiary of German cement group) at court for debt recovery, compensation and warranty related matters, advised global and local companies on various legal issues including subsoil use and land law, tax, customs, competition and currency regulation and provided ad hoc legal advisory services.
Ibragim publishes articles and legal reviews on land law, subsoil use and currency regulation.

Dario Gerardo Lamanna
Attorney at law, CNP
[email protected]

Dario G Lamanna is an Argentinian attorney. He has an LLM in oil and gas law and an MBA in business administration. He holds degrees in the Senior Management Programme (PAD) and in the Management Development Programme (PDD), as well as the CICA executive programme at IPADE Business School, Pan-American University. He specialises in oil and gas, energy, and mergers and acquisitions. His practice is focused on Latin American transactions. He has advised several companies on contract negotiations, business development and regulatory matters. Mr Lamanna served as General Counsel of several international oil companies and as well as a member of the board of directors of Latin America Regional Chapter Director and Mexico Sub-Chapter Director of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators. He is a university professor and speaker at several congresses and conferences on oil and gas in Latin America. In addition, he is author of diverse papers and publications and contributor to international newspapers and magazines, such as the Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law; Oil, Gas and Energy Law (OGEL) and Petroleum Magazine. He also wrote Regime of Hydrocarbons in Latin America, published by Editorial Ábaco de Rodolfo Depalma SRL, Buenos Aires (2007) (prologue by Andrew B Derman, Partner, Thompson & Knight LLP), among others.
He is a member of the International Bar Association (IBA), Latin American Corporate Counsel Association (LACCA), Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN), and board member of the UEF Energy Law Review of the Centre for Climate Change, Energy and Environmental Law, University of Eastern Finland. Mr Lamanna was AIPN Member of the Year 2015–2016.

Melina Llodra
Counsel, LALIVE
[email protected]

Melina Llodra joined LALIVE in 2008 after several years of practice in corporate and commercial law in Argentina. She specialises in structuring, financing and negotiation of large international energy transactions in a variety of contexts, such as licences and concession agreements, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, privatisations, bidding processes and public procurement, as well as sales of energy and commodities focusing on MENA and Latin America.
She holds an LLM from the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign and a law degree from the National University of Rosario, Argentina. She is also a lecturer at the Fribourg University School of Law, Master of Laws (LLM) in cross-cultural business practice in relation to international joint ventures.

El-Tayeb Murkaz Ali
Associate Professor of Law, University of Khartoum
[email protected]

Dr El-Tayeb Murkaz Ali is an Associate Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, University of Khartoum, and an academic researcher and consultant on environmental law and intellectual property law. He teaches these subjects at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level in the University of Khartoum. Dr El-Tayeb has also rendered several consultancies, individually or as a team member, to various Universities, Institutions and entities in the Sudan; including the Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources (HCENR), Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation and Electricity and the UNDP in Khartoum. Currently, he is the Dean of the Faculty of Law. Dr El-Tayeb holds an LLB from the Faculty of Law, University of Khartoum, LLM from the College of Law, University of Saskatchewan, Canada and a PhD from the Faculty of Law, University of Khartoum.

Waniss Otman
Petroleum economist
[email protected]

Waniss Otman is a petroleum economist and analyst who specialises in the area of risk and uncertainty analysis. He holds a PhD in risk analysis of investment in the upstream oil and gas sector (University of Aberdeen), as well as related LLM, MSc and BSc Degrees. This background provides him with a discerning approach to evaluating investment in the energy industry. He has worked in senior managerial positions in the oil and gas industry and as an advisor to NOCs and IOCs. His contributions to this field encompass published books, book chapters, numerous articles for professional journals and presentations in world forums.

Anna Ovcharova
Head of offshore projects legal support, Rosneft
[email protected]

Anna Ovcharova is head of offshore projects legal support in the Moscow-based large scale oil and gas company, Rosneft. She deals with mergers and acquisitions, integration, upstream and downstream projects, including large-scale international projects. She focuses on corporate, energy and natural resource law and has significant experience in mergers and acquisitions and joint venture projects.
She has recently supported the establishment and activity of joint ventures for several upstream offshore projects (Russian and international offshore territories), and continues to support the upstream offshore joint ventures in Russia and abroad. She also supported the bidders’ consortium in the first bid round for a production sharing agreement in Brazil, as well as in Croatia for the acquisition of concession and license rights in oil and gas fields. She supported the large scale transaction for the acquisition of rights in oil and gas fields in Vietnam, Angola, Russia and in other jurisdictions including structuring and formalising the contractual joint venture relations among the partners, post-closing support (secondment and operational matters).
Ms Ovcharova is a published author in Russian and international legal magazines and books. She is a PhD and holds two master’s degrees in law.

Raphael Paciello
Senior associate, Pinheiro Neto Advogados
[email protected]

Raphael Paciello holds an LLB from the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (2006), a postgraduate qualification in corporate law and capital markets (FGV, 2010) and an LLM from the Queen Mary University of London in Energy and Natural Resources Law (2015). He is a senior associate in the corporate and regulatory (oil and gas) department of Pinheiro Neto’s Rio de Janeiro office, having also worked as a visiting associate of the energy group at Herbert Smith Freehills in London (2015–2016). He specialises in corporate and oil and gas law, with a focus on M&A and corporate restructuring; regulatory law in the oil and gas and insurance areas; and government procurements and contracts. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the not for profit association Queen Silvia Association, in the city of Itaboraí/RJ, Brazil (2009–2011).

Maarifa Pashayeva
Associate, PwC Azerbaijan
[email protected]

Maarifa Pashayeva is an associate at PWC Azerbaijan. She holds degrees in law and commerce at Strasbourg University and has specialised in oil and gas projects. She has experience in oil and gas corporations and energy-producing countries ensuring advice is “commercial and solutions-oriented” including all facets of the financing and restructuring of oil and gas and energy projects.
Her recent experience includes advising the lenders and finance institutions in connection with project financing.

Eduardo G Pereira
Professor of energy law; Founding partner, International Energy Law Advisory Group
[email protected]; [email protected]

Eduardo G Pereira is a professor of energy law and partner at the International Energy Law Advisory Group. He has been active in the oil and gas industry for more than 10 years and is an international expert on joint operating agreements.
His experience in this area – both academic and practical – is extensive. He has practical experience in over 40 jurisdictions covering America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Dr Pereira concluded his doctoral thesis on oil and gas joint ventures at the University of Aberdeen. He is a professor of natural resources and energy law at the Externado University of Colombia; an adjunct professor of energy law at the University of Eastern Finland; visiting professor of energy law at the University of Reykjavik (Iceland); visiting professor at the Centre de Estudos de Ciências Jurídico-Econômicas e Socias – Agostinho Neto University (Angola); visiting professor at the Umaru Shinkafi Centre for Africa Extractive Policy Research (Nigeria); research fellow at the Scandinavian Institute for Maritime Law – University of Oslo (Norway); research fellow at Centro de Estudos em Regulação e Infraestrutura – FGV (Brazil), International Programme Manager of Extractive Resources Governance at the Strathmore Extractives Industry Centre – Strathmore University (Kenya); managing editor for UEF Energy Law Review and an associate editor of Oil, Gas & Energy Law (OGEL). He is also the author and editor of several leading oil and gas textbooks.
Further information about his publications can be found at: www.jus.uio.no/nifs/english/people/aca/eduardog/list-of-publications_egpereira.pdf.

Décio Pio Borges de Castro
Senior associate, Pinheiro Neto Advogados
[email protected]

Décio Pio Borges de Castro holds an LLB from the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (2003), an MBA in corporate finance from FGV (2009) and an LLM in corporate and commercial law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (2013). He is a senior associate in the corporate department of Pinheiro Neto’s Rio de Janeiro office, having also worked as visiting associate at Slaughter and May in London (2013).
He works mainly on M&A, corporate restructuring, finance transactions and has also advised clients with regard to oil and gas and exchange regulation. He has advised several Brazilian and foreign companies, financial institutions and international economic groups in M&A transactions, private equity investments and divestitures, project finance, corporate finance and capital markets deals. He is currently a member of the CAF (Comitê de Aquisições e Fusões) technical support group.

Patrícia Rosário
Managing director, Rosário Consulting Group
[email protected]

Patrícia Rosário is a qualified Portuguese lawyer and managing partner of Rosario Consulting Group. She holds a JD from the Catholic University of Lisbon and an LLM in Comparative and International Dispute Resolution from the University of London, Queen Mary.
Her practice focuses on foreign investment/ public international law, international construction law, natural resources and international arbitration. Patrícia has professional expertise in international contract management (in particular FIDIC) and international arbitration and adjudication. Her experience also includes structuring investments in Africa and Europe. Patrícia has acted for international developers, employers and contractors in some of the largest and most complex building and engineering projects undertaken in Europe and Africa, and was involved in legislative drafting and public affairs advice.
She acts as an arbitrator, adjudicator and counsel, advising parties with respect to arbitration proceedings in different countries and under all the major arbitration systems including in English, Spanish and Portuguese languages.

Lisa Schoenmakers
Lawyer, Senior associate, NautaDutilh NV
[email protected]

Lisa Schoenmakers is a lawyer (senior associate) in the corporate mergers and acquisitions department and a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Group of NautaDutilh, an international law firm. She serves as counsel in international and national corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures, as well as in relation to general contractual and commercial issues. She was previously based in NautaDutilh’s New York office, where she served as counsel in corporate and in finance transactions. She specialises in the field of corporate energy – where M&A meets energy law – and she is experienced in energy contracts and transactions in the energy sector, as well in the field of oil and gas as renewables.
Lisa is ranked as a “next generation lawyer” in the energy category by the Legal 500.

Thomas Kojo Stephens
Member, Akufo-Addo, Prempeh & Co; Lecturer, University of Ghana School of Law
[email protected];
[email protected]

Thomas Kojo Stephens is a member of the eminent law firm, Akufo-Addo, Prempeh and Co, based in Accra, Ghana, and a member of the Ghana Bar Association. He is a member of the International Energy Law Advisory Group (IELAG), and a consultant in the area of petroleum law, policy, regulation and revenue management. He is also a lecturer in law at the University of Ghana School of Law, where his teaching responsibilities include Petroleum Law (LLM) and Natural Resources Law (LLB). He is a member of Ghana’s Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), a statutory body established to monitor and evaluate compliance with Ghana’s law on petroleum revenue management, as well as providing independent assessment on the management and use of petroleum revenues. He is a member of its technical sub-committee, and currently chairs its legal sub-committee. He has published peerreviewed articles in the area of petroleum law and his research and other interests include regulation, policy, legal frameworks and comparative analysis.
He obtained a BA in Political Science and Philosophy from Emory University in Atlanta, US as a Bill Gates Scholar; an LLB from the University of Ghana, Legon; a BL from the Ghana School of Law; an LLM from Cornell University in New York, US; and a PhD from Aberdeen University, Scotland as a Commonwealth Scholar.

Malek Takieddine
Lawyer and lecturer, Al-Jad/CMS
[email protected];
[email protected]

Malek is a Lebanese lawyer working with international oil companies in the Middle East and North Africa, including BP, Eni, Gazprom, LUKOIL and TOTAL. He is a lecturer in oil and gas law at the Lebanese American University (LAU). He obtained a master’s (LLM) degree in oil and gas law from the University of Aberdeen (2007/8) and worked for a number of years on UK oil and gas projects. He has contributed to a number of publications related to Iraqi and Lebanese laws, and is regularly invited to speak at conferences and roundtable discussions in Dubai, Lebanon, Washington DC (the Aspen Institute), London and Aberdeen. Malek is a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators and a board member of the Energy Committee at the Beirut Bar Association.

Kim Talus
Chair, Energy Law, Tulane University (from January 2018)
[email protected]

Kim Talus is a professor of European economic and energy Law at the University of Eastern Finland Law School and the director of the Centre for Climate Change, Energy and Environmental Law. He also serves as a professor of energy law at the University of Helsinki. From January 2018, he is the inaugural holder of the James McCulloch Chair in Energy Law and becomes the founding director of Tulane University’s Centre for Energy Law. Talus’s extensive experience in research and consultancy has centered around international, comparative and European energy law. He has authored and co-authored articles in more than 120 publications. Talus’s work has awarded him with many recognitions, including the Willoughby Prize in 2005, for an outstanding article published in the Journal of Energy and Natural Resources Law. In addition to his written work, Talus frequently speaks at international conferences. He has held teaching positions at University College London, the University of Houston and the University of Bonn. He is the editor-in-chief for Oil, Gas and Energy Law (OGEL) and a member of the editorial board for AIPN’s Journal of World Energy Law and Business, published by Oxford University Press. He works frequently with companies, public authorities and governments in various areas of energy law and policy. His recent assignments relate to EU and international law aspects of large-scale infrastructure investments and upstream oil and gas as well as investment disputes.

Jaap Jan Trommel
Lawyer, Managing partner, NautaDutilh NV
[email protected]

Jaap Jan Trommel is managing partner of NautaDutilh, an international law firm. He is a lawyer in the corporate M&A department and is head of the Energy and Natural Resources Group. He has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions and corporate work for domestic and international clients. He practised law in Spain, Singapore and Indonesia.
He mostly works for clients in the energy sector. Recent work includes tank storage, CCS and wind farm projects as well as a number of mergers and acquisitions transactions in the upstream and midstream sector. His expertise also includes boardroom counselling.
Jaap Jan is ranked as a “leading individual” in the energy category by the Legal 500. He is described in the Legal 500 as being “very knowledgeable and very hands-on; (...) very constructive”. Chambers Europe states “NautaDutilh’s Energy Department is headed by (...) Jaap Jan Trommel; recommended for his huge experience and fully up-to-date knowledge”.

Chisom Nneka Udechukwu
Legal practitioner, Nigeria
[email protected]

Chisom Udechukwu has worked with top law firms in Nigeria and now consults for a government upstream corporate services unit. She has considerable experience in the petroleum upstream sector having advised on a broad range of joint venture, PSC, gas, procurement and administrative issues in numerous commercial transactions. She graduated from the Igbinedion University College of Law and obtained a master’s degree in oil and gas law from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. She also volunteers online for the United Nations.

Rafael Valdivieso
Senior associate, Ferrere
[email protected]

Rafael Valdivieso is a senior associate at Ferrere’s Ecuador office and is a member of the Energy Team with a focus in oil and gas and administrative law.
Rafael has extensive experience in handling complex corporate structuring and project financing agreements for major infrastructure and oil-related projects, which have included several cross-border transactions as well as local and international mergers and acquisitions. He advises key clients in Ecuador as well as other service providers and operators; he has recently advised several clients for the implementation of new, high profile oil and gas projects in Ecuador, Mexico, Venezuela, Cuba, Guatemala and Argentina. Recently, he advised a local upstream company in Ecuador’s oil industry’s first IPO. Prior to joining Ferrere, Rafael began his practice in 2012 at a major law firm in Ecuador, where he was an associate. Rafael was also a research assistant at a major law firm in Ecuador from 2009 until late 2010. Rafael graduated as an attorney from Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador.
Aside from Rafael’s professional activities, he teaches Administrative Law I and II to undergraduate students at Universidad San Francisco de Quito as an adjunct professor. Additionally, Rafael has written several pieces on international arbitration, energy markets, oil and gas and administrative law, which have been published in various first-class publications in English and Spanish.

Debra J Villarreal
Partner, Thompson & Knight LLP
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Debra J Villarreal is a partner in the oil and gas section of Thompson & Knight LLP in Dallas, Texas. Her practice focuses on the acquisition and disposition of oil and gas properties. She represents clients in strategic design negotiations and contract preparation for joint development and exploration activities and acquisitions and divestitures of oil and gas properties throughout the United States.
Ms Villarreal holds a JD from Kansas University of Law School, where she was on the Law Review and was Order of the Coif and Phi Kappa Phi. She has been named Best Dallas Oil and Gas Lawyer for 2014 and 2017 by The Best Lawyers in America by Woodward/White Inc.

Marcelo Viveiros de Moura
Partner, Pinheiro Neto Advogados
[email protected]

Marcelo Viveiros de Moura holds an LLB from the University of Rio de Janeiro Law School (1988) and an LLM from the University of Cambridge (Hughes Hall, 1993). He is a partner in the corporate department of Pinheiro Neto’s Rio de Janeiro office, having also worked as a visiting associate at Slaughter and May in London (1992). He specialises in corporate law, with a focus on M&A and corporate restructuring; regulatory law in the oil and gas, capital markets and insurance areas; project and corporate finance; and government procurements and contracts. Marcelo was a professor of Corporate Law of the Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) law school for four years (2010–2013) and has served as chairman of the British-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (2007–2009) where he is currently an honorary board member.

Yerzhan Yessimkhanov
Partner, Grata Law Firm
[email protected]

Yerzhan Yessimkhanov graduated from Kazakh Humanitarian Law University in 2004. Yerzhan has extensive experience in the areas of construction and infrastructure, real estate and telecommunications. He has acted as a consultant on a number of large infrastructure projects realised over the last decade in Kazakhstan, including work as: head of the legal team of Kazakhstan’s largest ski resort reconstruction project; leader of the team of consultants working on reconstruction of the largest electrical energy producing enterprise in Kazakhstan with an overall project value of approximately $700 million; and leader of the team of consultants representing Kazakhstan’s largest infrastructure construction company in several judicial proceedings with overall value of the claims of approximately $70 million. Yerzhan led the project on the legal support of the launch of the Uber service in Kazakhstan, and represented a shortlisted consortium of Spanish, French and Turkish companies in a second stage of public tender for construction and operation of the Big Almaty Ring Road (BAKAD), including review and negotiations over a concession agreement with the Ministry of Investments and Development. Yerzhan is author of a number of articles and reviews. He is recommended by the Legal 500 2017 in the area of real estate and construction, and is highly recommended by AsiaLaw Profiles 2014–2017 as a legal expert in Kazakhstan in the areas of construction and real estate, energy and IT, telecommunications and media.

Latifat Folashade Yusuff
Legal practitioner, Nigeria
[email protected]

Latifat Folashade Yusuff holds degrees in law and has practised law in Nigeria for 15 years. In the past 11 years, she has specialised in oil and gas legal advisory services.
She has been actively involved in the negotiation of contracts devolving from production sharing contracts, joint venture contracts and other petroleum arrangements in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. She has also been active in the management of these contracts.
She is a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN) and authored the Chapter on Nigeria in the leading oil and gas book, African Upstream Oil and Gas: A Practical Guide to the Law and Regulation (GLB, 2015). Ms Yusuff provides regular updates from Nigeria on twitter at @NigerianLawNews (legal updates) and @ShadesOilBlog (oil and gas industry updates).