Saud Al-Motawa, Team Leader - Corporate Legal Affairs, Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC)
An expert energy sector lawyer, Saud Al-Motawa spent five years with Kuwait Petroleum Corporation between 2008 and 2013 before moving to its international upstream subsidiary, Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC). As senior legal counsel with KUFPEC Saud takes charge of all M&A, operational and corporate legal matters in North America, UK, Egypt and Yemen among other responsibilities. In this capacity he has been able to oversee some extremely exciting projects, including the successful acquisition of KUFPEC’s assets in Kaybob, Alberta, Canada. Saud has been an active AIEN member since 2012.
Rodrigo Carè, Sr. Counsel, Galadari Advocates & Legal Consultants; AIEN MENA Regional Director
Rodrigo Carè is Senior Counsel at Galadari Advocates & Legal Consultants’ Dubai office. With significant and highly regarded expertise in arbitration and offshore litigation, Rodrigo focuses on complex disputes across the oil & gas and construction sectors, with particular experience in matters involving sovereigns or State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).
As a member of the New York, Rome, and DIFC bars, he appears as sole or lead advocate before the courts and arbitral tribunals worldwide, including under the ICC, LCIA, ICSID, DIAC rules, and before the DIFC and ADGM Courts.
Earlier in his career, Rodrigo completed a secondment with the LNG and Natural Gas divisions of Eni SpA and served as a Judicial Fellow to the Hon. Charles N. Brower. He has written extensively on the Energy Charter Treaty and other topics relating to dispute resolution in the energy sector. He earned his legal education at Georgetown University Law Center in the United States and Roma Tre University in Italy. Rodrigo is fluent in English, French, and Italian.
Mehrdad Molaei, Senior Legal Counsel, SLB (formerly Schlumberger)
Mehrdad Molaei is a Senior Legal Counsel at SLB (formerly Schlumberger) with over 24 years of international experience in the energy sector, advising on large-scale projects across the Middle East, Europe, North America, and Asia. He specializes in complex commercial contracting, project development, and pre-dispute management for major infrastructure, geothermal, and digital solutions projects. His work focuses on contractual risk allocation, claim and counter-claim strategies, stakeholder management, and developing negotiation frameworks that prevent or shape potential disputes long before arbitration. Mehrdad has led legal support for multi-billion-dollar energy and decarbonization initiatives and frequently contributes to industry discussions on governance, contracting best practices, and emerging legal trends in the energy transition.
Baqar Palavandishvili, Senior Associate, Galadari Advocates & Legal Consultants
Baqar Palavandishvili is a Senior Associate at Galadari Advocates & Legal Consultants. With more than a decade of legal practice, he advises governments, multinational corporations, and financial institutions on corporate and commercial matters, focusing on oil & gas, energy projects, M&A, and corporate transactions. His recent work includes advising a government entity on an Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement for an onshore block and other projects in the energy and infrastructure sector.
Baqar’s experience spans clients from EU, U.S., CIS, and Middle East, across sectors including oil & gas, energy, financial services, engineering, aviation, hospitality, technology, and pharmaceuticals. He has led the sale and acquisition of hydro and thermal power plants, advised on major port and infrastructure developments, and structured joint ventures. His practice also includes guiding multinational clients through regulatory clearances and compliance processes, as well as representing them before government authorities in inspections and dispute resolution. In recognition of his work, Legal 500 named him a Next Generation Lawyer in 2019.
Baqar is dual-qualified as a Solicitor in England & Wales and as an Advocate in Georgia. He is also a registered legal consultant with the Dubai Legal Affairs Department. In addition, he lectures on oil and gas law for Dubai’s Legal Affairs Department and is an active member of the Association of International Energy Negotiators. His academic background is multidisciplinary, holding three master’s degrees: an LL.M in Law (Tbilisi State University), an MBA (Free University of Tbilisi), and an MA in International Political Economy (King’s College London)
Dr. Eduardo Pereira, Research Fellow Internation Energy Attorney, Al-Attiyah Foundation
Dr. Eduardo Pereira is a worldwide recognised scholar specialising in Natural Resources and Energy Law. He is a founding partner at the International Energy Law Training and Research Company as well as the International Energy Law Advisory Group. He has practical experience in over 50 jurisdictions in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. Dr Pereira concluded his doctoral thesis in Oil and Gas Joint Ventures at the University of Aberdeen (UK) and conducted postdoctoral research at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies in the UK. He has published numerous peer-reviewed scientific articles, monographs and books on Natural resources and Energy law.