Business law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr announced on Tuesday that it had appointed a new oil and gas legal team, which comprised director Megan Rodgers, associates Craig Wilton and Giovanni Cloete, and personal assistant Theresa Barreto.

Rodgers would lead the firm's oil and gas sector offering in the company’s Cape Town office, a division which formed an integral part of Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr’s Projects and Infrastructure practice led by Jay Govender.

“The new team has unique expertise in the upstream oil and gas industry, acting for both national oil companies as well as independent oil companies doing business throughout Africa. The team’s experience in South Africa and also on the rest of the continent is invaluable as opportunities in this sector continue to grow across all jurisdictions on the continent,” said Govender.

Rodgers held an LLB degree and LLM degree (cum laude) from the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and was a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators and Women in Oil and Energy South Africa. She had considerable experience in the upstream oil and gas industry and had assisted independent oil companies across multiple jurisdictions, such as South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Tanzania, Falkland Islands, Western Australia, Dubai, Iraq and, more recently, Namibia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia and Zambia.

Wilton held a BA LLB degree from UWC and had been practising as an attorney since 1997. He assisted clients with applications for petroleum permits and rights, as well as the renewal and transfer thereof in terms of South African law. Wilton had also assisted in advising clients on the regulatory aspects of coal-bed methane projects in South Africa and had prepared a response to the Department of Mineral Resources’ proposed amendments to the Minerals and Petroleum Resource Development Act (MPRDA).

Meanwhile, Cloete held an LLB degree from UWC and had assisted clients with applications for petroleum permits and rights, as well as the renewal and transfer thereof in terms of South African law. He had also advised on the regulatory aspects of coal-bed methane projects in South Africa and had prepared submissions to the South African government on the proposed amendments to the MPRDA.