Image of Omar Alkaffas

Omar Alkaffas

Partner

Email

omar.alkaffas@aoshearman.com

Phone

+971 2 4180480

Offices

Abu Dhabi

V-CARD
Omar advises governments on strategic, regulatory, and fiscal matters, corporates and financial institutions on joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions and project development and finance transactions.
Omar has advised on several complex transactions in the energy and infrastructure sectors, including government concessions, restructurings of value-chains and carve-outs of businesses in connection with debt and equity capital markets transactions and long-term supply contracts.

Experience

Representative matters

  • ADNOC on the acquisition by PTTEP of a 10% participating interest in the Ghasha concession from Wintershall Dea.
  • ADNOC on the sale by CEPSA of its entire upstream portfolio of assets in the UAE to TotalEnergies.
  • ADNOC on its investment, alongside Mubadala and TAQA, into Masdar to create a growth platform to facilitate their collective investment in renewable power and hydrogen projects through the acquisition of an interest in Masdar and creating a new renewable hydrogen platform.
  • ADNOC on a strategic partnership of the $6.2 billion investment agreement between ADNOC and Borealis AG to build the fourth Borouge facility (Borouge 4) at the polyolefin manufacturing complex in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.
  • ADNOC on the disposal of an interest in ADNOC Refining to Eni and OMV, where the company was valued at c. $19 billion.
  • NEOM Company, Saudi Arabia’s new city gigaproject development company, on a $8.4 billion green energy joint venture with ACWA Power and Air Products that will incorporate the region’s largest wind and solar renewables production projects (4GW in total), as well as a ground-breaking green hydrogen / green ammonia export project.
  • ADNOC on the sale of interests in the new round of offshore oil concessions to multiple oil majors and IOCs including CEPSA, CNPC, ENI, ExxonMobil, INPEX Corporation, OMV, ONGC and Total for in excess of $7.2 billion.
  • ADNOC on the 2018 inaugural Abu Dhabi licensing block bid round, awarding a number of offshore and onshore exploration blocks covering approximately 30,000km2 to multiple oil majors and IOCs including ENI, PTTEP, Occidental Petroleum, INPEX Corporation and a consortium led by Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Indian Oil Corporation for a value of $820 million.
  • ADNOC on the second Abu Dhabi licensing block bid round, awarding a number of offshore and onshore exploration blocks to multiple international companies including COSMO, ENI, Occidental Petroleum, PTTEP and a consortium of Pakistani oil and gas majors. 
  • ADNOC on its joint venture with Reliance Industries Limited for the joint construction and development of an integrated Chlor-Alkali and Ethylene di Chloride facility in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.
  • ADNOC on the establishment and launch of its crude oil trading unit: ADNOC Trading, based in ADGM. The launch of the trading unit represents the next step in ADNOC's expansion of its global presence as it takes steps to increase value through its trading activities.
  • ADNOC on the sale of interests in the ultra-sour gas Ghasha concession to ENI, Wintershall DEA and OMV, and the subsequent divestment to Lukoil.
  • ADNOC on the grant of a 40 percent interest in the Ruwais Diyab unconventional gas concession to Total, the first arrangement of its kind in the Middle East.
  • ADNOC and Borealis on the carve out aspects of the Borouge IPO on the Abu Dhabi Exchange (ADX) which valued Borouge at $20.05 billion and was 74 times oversubscribed.
  • ADNOC on the restructuring of their entire fuel supply chain from upstream oil and gas extraction to distribution, in connection with the first ever IPO in the group of ADNOC Distribution, selling 1.25 billion shares and valuing ADNOC Distribution at $8.5 billion.
  • DFIs on the financing of three solar projects being developed under the FiT programme in Egypt.
  • Masdar and Bee’ah on the development and financing of the pioneering Sharjah Waste-to-Energy Project in Sharjah, UAE.
  • A Sharjah Government entity on the Sharjah LNG project.
  • EBRD, ICD (the Islamic Development Bank’s private sector arm) and EAB on the financing of the Shobak wind energy farm in Jordan, which included conventional A & B loans from EBRD (with EAB as the B loan participant), Islamic financing from ICD and an IRS swap from EBRD.
  • A syndicate of international and local banks on the development and financing of the $870 million 1.17 GW Sweihan Solar PV IPP located near Sweihan in Abu Dhabi.
  • IFC, EBRD, OFID ICBC and CCB on the development and financing of the Zarqa CCGT Power Project at the Hussein site in Jordan.
  • The lending group (K-EXIM, IsDB and the commercial banks) on the development and financing of the Fadhili IPP in Saudi Arabia.
  • The lenders to ACWA Power on its bid for the Ibri/Sohar 3 IPPs in Oman.
  • Goldman Sachs International, Barclays and Mizuho Securities, as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners, on a Rule 144A/Reg. S international offering of fixed rate, guaranteed, high yield, redeemable senior notes and floating rate, guaranteed, high yield, redeemable senior notes by TVL Finance plc.
  • J.P. Morgan, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Oddo on Autodis S.A.’s offering of its €260 million 4.375 percent senior secured fixed rate notes due 2022 and €260 million senior secured floating rate notes due 2022.
  • Merrill Lynch International, DNB Markets, Lloyds Bank, Société Générale, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Industriel et Commercial, Credit Suisse, KBC, Morgan Stanley, RBS and UniCredit on Thomas Cook's €750 million high yield bond offering.
  • Aditya Birla Group on its $925 million refinancing of existing facilities. 
  • HSBC on the financing of TPG Growth's acquisition of Frank Recruitment Group.

Recognition

“Omar Alkaffas gives world class advice that is commercial but with an eye for details”
Legal 500 EMEA, 2023

Qualifications

Admissions

England & Wales, 2017

Academic

LL.B., Law with French Law, University College of London, 2014
LL.M., Banking and Securities Law, Kaplan Law School, 2015
LPC, Kaplan Law School, 2015

Languages

Arabic
English
French
Spanish
Disclaimer
A&O Shearman was formed on May 1, 2024 by the combination of Shearman & Sterling LLP and Allen & Overy LLP and their respective affiliates (the legacy firms). Any matters referred to above may include matters undertaken by one or more of the legacy firms rather than A&O Shearman.