Biography

Yanal is a Senior Associate in the Corporate Commercial practice based in Dubai and a core member of Al Tamimi & Company’s Energy and Resources Practice Group.

He is a multilingual international lawyer who principally advises oil and gas companies on corporate and advisory matters, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, projects, licensing and regulation, and commercial contracts. He has been recognised in the inaugural edition of “The Best Lawyers in the UK: Ones to Watch (2023)” review for Corporate Law.

He has cross-border experience in major oil and gas corporate transactions and projects across Europe, the Middle East, Russia, and Southeast Asia, as well as expertise in drafting and negotiating petroleum contracts across the entire supply chain (upstream, midstream, and downstream).

Yanal is an English-qualified solicitor with over ten years of experience in London, having worked for a specialist boutique firm acting for tier-1 oil and gas companies and an international firm’s corporate practice in the City of London. He has been practising law across the MENA since joining Al Tamimi Company in 2022.

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Recent Experience

Oil and Gas Corporate, M&A, and Joint Ventures 

Highlights of Yanal’s corporate/M&A experience include advising:

  • Maha Energy on selling to Mafraq Energy LLC 35% of its participating interest in Block 70, an onshore oilfield in central Oman, pursuant to a farm-out agreement and negotiating the associated joint operating agreement.
  • a South East Asian Independent Oil and Gas Company on its acquisition of a 40% interest in two blocks onshore Oman.
  • an Investment Company on the proposed sales of its stake in an oil and gas transport company based in Abu Dhabi.
  • an Independent E&P Company on a range of corporate commercial matters, including commercial aspects of its investments into and non-operating interest in a natural gas field as well as the supply of natural gas to a national electricity company and purchasers in foreign markets*
  • an Independent E&P Company on its proposed divestiture from its gas and LNG*. trading/shipping business in Egypt*
  • a Southeast Asian E&P company on its proposed acquisition of oil and gas assets in the Kurdistan region of Iraq*
  • an Independent E&P Company on its investment and participation in offshore gas concessions in Egypt (value confidential)*
  • Sapura Energy Berhad on its agreement to establish a joint venture with Austrian state-controlled company OMV (c.US$900 million)*
  • SapuraKencana Petroleum Berhad on its acquisition of Newfield’s oil and gas assets in Malaysia and China (c.$1.3 billion)*
  • CEFC China Energy on its proposed acquisition of 14.2% of Rosneft Oil Company’s shares from Glencore and Qatar Investment Authority (c.$9 billion)*
  • a Leading Oil and Gas Company on a series of strategic acquisitions of shares in private oil and gas companies in the Russian Federation (c.US$5 billion)*
  • an Independent E&P Company on its proposed acquisition of oil mining licences and related assets in Nigeria (value confidential)*
  • a European E&P Company on its acquisition and/or participation in several fields and prospects in Denmark, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, and the UK*

Commercial (Oil and Gas)

Highlights of Yanal’s commercial experience include advising:

  • a DIFC incorporated trader on a crude oil sale and purchase agreement and related security and subordination agreements.
  • a Singaporean gasoline trader on a gasoline sale and purchase agreement.
  • a DIFC-incorporated crude oil trader on the negotiation of a terminal use agreement in Southeast Asia
  • an Independent Gas Producer on the drafting and negotiation of long-term gas sale and purchase agreements*
  • an Independent Gas Producer on its existing standard gas sale and purchase agreements*
  • an Oil Trader on the drafting of its standard terms and conditions for the sale and purchase of crude oil*

Mining and Power

Highlights of Yanal’s mining and power experience include advising:

  • a National Utility Company on its proposed joint venture relating to cross-border electricity distribution and transmission in Southern Africa*
  • a Rare Earth Mining Company on aspects of a proposed mining development agreement in South-eastern Africa*
  • a Mining Contractor on a range of corporate commercial matters, including the structuring of its international arm and its participation in mining-related joint ventures in Africa*
  • an Investment Fund on the development of a proposed mining infrastructure development programme in Ghana*

General Corporate Commercial and Venture Capital

Highlights of Yanal’s corporate commercial experience include advising:

  • Modo Energy Limited, an energy data analytics company, on its c.US$3.8 million Series A financing led by Fred Olsen Ltd*
  • HYOX Limited, a developer of liquid hydrogen fuel, on its establishment in the UK, seed financing, and general corporate and commercial matters*
  • Starchaser Industries Ltd, a UK private-owned space tourism company, on space regulatory matters*
  • a Jordanian Renewable Energy Company on its joint venture with a US company for the replacement, supply, installation, and operation of conventional streets lighting units with energy-saving units in Jordan and the Palestinian Territories*
  • several start-ups on a range of agency, distribution, and franchise in the MENA*

* Prior to joining Al Tamimi and Company.

Language(s)

  • Arabic
  • English
  • Greek
  • Italian

Education

2015 – Legal Practice Course, BPP University

2012 – Master of Laws in Oil and Gas Law, University of Aberdeen

2011 – Bachelor of Laws, Kingston University, London

Admission

2016 – England & Wales, Solicitor

2023 – Emirate of Dubai, Legal Consultant