Profile: Mohammed Al-Kilani

Oil and Gas

Biography: Oil and Gas

Mr Kilani has practised oil and gas law in Libya and internationally since joining the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) as chief legal counsel in 1977. His Libyan practice includes holding the position of general manager of the legal division and of the NOC; establishing and administering Libya's Mediterranean Oil Services Co, a subsidiary of NOC, and MED OIL GmbH as procurement company in Germany; and heading the drafting committee of the National Petroleum Law Review Committee. Mr Kilani is experienced in major international litigation at the International Court of Arbitration in Paris, including the Oasis arbitration and Grace arbitration Cases.

Mr Kilani has been a member of the Umm al JAWABY management committee, MED OIL GmbH management committee, VEBA owners' management committee; he has held the position of chairman of the CPTL owners' management committee and of the REPSOL owners' management committee in Libya, where he supervised the activities of these committees and participated in important decisions on work programmers, including budget expenditure.

More recently, Mr Kilani is managing partner of Al-Kilani Gheblawi & Najah Law Firm in Tripoli, where he is active in international oil and gas matters, with long- standing comprehensive legal experience in both national and international commercial matters as well as a variety of other legal fields. Mr Kilani offers advice to foreign companies and represents clients in Libyan courts at all levels, as well as in international arbitration proceedings. He specialises in advising on the Libyan legal situation and other commercial matters and supports clients in the negotiation and drafting of agreements. He is fluent in Arabic, English, French and German.

In addition to his legal practice, Mr Kilani is professor of Commercial Law in the Libyan universities.