ALN was at the centre of the first oil and gas dispute to be filed in the Kenyan courts, when it acted for the Africa Oil Corporation, a Canadian oil and gas company with assets in Kenya and Ethiopia, and its subsidiaries Africa Oli Turkana and Africa Oil BV. The long-running judicial review proceedings were against Kenya’s Ministry for Energy, who were attempting to quash the grant of production sharing contracts on oil blocks in Northern Kenya. Both politically and economically important, the case involved government, the High Court and the Court of Appeal. Success was critical to ALN’s client who had invested millions of dollars on the oil blocks and already begun exploration activities. Any other outcome would have forced the termination of exploration activities and unnerved foreign investors in this sector, potentially straining relations between the Kenyan and Ethiopian governments.
ALN worked alongside McCullough O’Connor Irwin London, who advised on corporate issues from the UK law perspective; Mohammed Muigai, counsel to Tullow; and Daly & Figgis Advocates, counsel to Centric Energy Corporation (Co-Respondent). ALN acted for Africa Oil in both the High Court and the Court of Appeal, including successfully defending the proceedings at the High Court and striking out two proposed appeals filed at the Court of Appeal. Having saved the African Oil Corporation over USD 100 million, ALN continues to serve the client’s interests and are currently defending a Notice of Appeal at the Supreme Court.
