DR VICTORIA NALULE

Biography

Victoria is a lawyer and an Energy and Mining expert, with extensive experience working on various projects in the different parts of the Globe. She is a holder of a PhD in International Energy Law and Policy (Dundee, UK). Victoria is the Founder of a charity NGO, the African Energy and Minerals Management Initiative. She is the CEO and lead consultant at Nalule Energy & Minerals Consultants. She is also an Energy & Natural Resources Law Lecturer at the University of Bradford, UK.

Victoria is enthusiastic about energy arbitration & dispute resolution. As such, she is an Energy Arbitrator at the Energy Disputes Arbitration Center (EDAC), Turkey. She is a committee member at the International Law Association (ILA): and at Access for Women in Energy.

Victoria is an author and has widely published on topics relating to oil, gas, renewable energy, climate change, mining and International Arbitration. Her latest five books covering energy, mining, land access and Extractives, energy arbitration, and negotiation in Extractives.

Victoria offers extensive experience in the Energy and Mining sectors having worked with various institutions; regional and international organizations including assignments for The Queen Mary University of London (EU Energy Project); The International Energy Charter Secretariat in Belgium; The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment in New York; the East African Community Secretariat in Tanzania; the Southern African Development Community Secretariat in Botswana; International Arbitration Case Law in New York; Uganda Christian University; to mention but a few. She has also worked with both the private and public legal sectors.

She has presented as a speaker and panellist in several forums and conferences. She has also advised African governments on oil, gas and mining projects including training officials from the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company: leading a capacity building training for an international NGO OXFAM: appearing as an expert witness before the Commission of Inquiry into Land matters in Uganda; presenting comments on the South African Petroleum Bill before the country’s Policy Makers; leading a team of energy experts in reviewing Energy/Mining laws and policies for countries such as Namibia, Ethiopia, Uganda etc.

Victoria has an active YouTube Channel and Podcast both focused on energy and mining discussions. She is one of the few people who got her PhD in less than 3 years below the age of 30 years. For more, visit www.victorianalule.com.

DR THEOPHILUS ACHEAMPONG

Biography

Dr Theophilus Acheampong is an economist and political risk analyst with over ten years’ experience working with governments, private investors, and international organisations on natural resource governance and public financial management issues. He has worked as an independent consultant on over 40 projects in the global energy industry, particularly in upstream oil and gas, and in providing economic analysis and market research covering frontier emerging markets. His areas of specialisation include energy policy formulation, fiscal regime design and modelling, taxation and investment analysis, petroleum accounting and contractual negotiations. Other areas include trade and investment promotion and financial analysis of public sector entities, including programming and budgeting. Dr. Acheampong also specialises in analysing political and business risks in Sub-Saharan Africa. This includes producing forward-looking risk reports covering economic (sovereign, fiscal and monetary policy), legal (expropriation and contract risks) and operational risks (corruption and regulatory burden). Dr. Acheampong holds a PhD in economics and a Master of Science in petroleum, energy economics and finance from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He earned his Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. He is an Associate Lecturer at The Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP), University of Dundee. He is also an Associate Lecturer and Honorary Research Fellow at the Aberdeen Centre for Research in Energy Economics and Finance (ACREEF), University of Aberdeen. He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow at Ghanaian Think Tank IMANI Centre for Policy and Education. Dr. Acheampong is quoted in international media such as the BBC, Bloomberg, AFP, CNBC and has widely published in leading academic journals. Theo is currently co-editing a Palgrave MacMillan book titled “Petroleum Resource Management in Africa: Lessons from Ghana”, which examines the challenges and opportunities from ten years of oil and gas production in Ghana.

Prof. Dr. Eduardo G. Pereira

Prof. Dr. Eduardo G. Pereira is a professor of Natural Resources and Energy Law. He is a founding partner at the International Energy Law Training and Research Company as well as at the International Energy Law Advisory Group. He has been active in the natural resources and energy industry for more than 15 years and is an international expert on oil and gas contracts and regulations. His experience in this area – both academic and practical – is extensive. He has practical experience in over 50 jurisdictions covering America, Europe, Africa and Asia. He is a professor of natural resources and energy law as a full-time, part-time, honorary, adjunct and/or visiting scholar in a number of leading academic institutions around the world. He is also a managing editor for the GSENRLJ and an associate editor of OGEL. He is also the author and editor of several leading oil and gas textbooks. 

PROFESSOR DAMILOLA S. OLAWUYI, SAN, FCIARB

Biography

Professor Damilola is an international lawyer, professor of law, arbitrator, author, and policy consultant, with expertise in petroleum, energy and environmental law. In 2015, Professor Olawuyi was promoted to the rank of Full Professor of Law at Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria at the age of 32 years, becoming one of the youngest full professors of law in Nigerian history. He is Deputy Vice Chancellor, Chancellor’s Fellow and Director of the Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (OGEES Institute), Afe Babalola University, Nigeria. He is also a professor of petroleum, energy and environmental law at HBKU Law School, Doha, Qatar where he teaches energy and environmental law courses. 

​A prolific and highly regarded scholar, Professor Olawuyi has practiced and taught law in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and the Middle East. He was formerly an international energy lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Calgary, where he served on the firm’s global committee on extractive resource investments in Africa. He was also formerly deputy director and head of international environmental law at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, Waterloo, Canada. 

Professor Olawuyi has published several influential journal articles and books on natural resources, energy and environmental law.  He has been an expert speaker and commentator at several international conferences. His most recent book publications include: Extractives Industry Law in Africa (Springer, 2018) and The Human Rights-Based Approach to Carbon Finance (Cambridge University Press, 2016). 

Professor Olawuyi is an Independent Expert on the African Commission’s Working Group on Extractive Industries, Environment and Human Rights. He is Vice Chair of the International Law Association; co-chair of the Africa Interest Group of the American Society of International Law (2016-2019); and member of the Academic Advisory Group of the International Bar Association’s Section on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law (SEERIL).  He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy; Associate Editor of the Carbon and Climate Law Review; and Senior Research Fellow of the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law, Montreal, Canada. He is a member of the Governing Council of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria, and a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators (NICARB).  

Professor Olawuyi has lectured on energy and environmental law in over 50 countries including: Qatar, Great Britain, Greece, France, Denmark, United States, Australia, Spain, China, India, Kenya, Netherlands, Canada, United States and across Nigeria. He has most recently received the Herbert Smith Freehills Visiting Professorship at the University of Cambridge, UK and the IAS Vanguard Fellowship of the University of Birmingham. He has served as a visiting professor of law at the China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing; University Research Fellow at the Consortium for Peace Studies, University of Calgary; and David Sive Scholar at Columbia Law School, New York, United States.  

Professor Olawuyi has been admitted as Barrister and Solicitor in Alberta, Canada; Ontario, Canada; and Nigeria.