Hamid, counsel in the London office, is an experienced arbitration practitioner and litigator, having regularly advised multinational companies on an extensive range of disputes, particularly within the energy and natural resources sector. He has played a lead role in multiple disputes arising from Nigeria’s deep offshore production sharing contracts, resulting in successful outcomes for his clients.

Hamid’s experience includes:

• Representing three ENI subsidiaries in an ICSID arbitration against the Federal Republic of Nigeria arising out the State’s refusal to grant an oil mining license to allow production to proceed in Nigeria’s deep offshore. The case involves allegations of corruption. US$2.5 billion is at stake
• Representing a supermajor in an ICC arbitration against a Middle Eastern State-owned entity in relation to a dispute arising out of the supermajor’s assignment of its interest in a technical services contract
• Acting for a consortium of oil and gas companies comprising ExxonMobil, Total, Chevron, and Nexen subsidiaries in a dispute relating to recovery of operating costs totalling US$1.5 billion
• Representing Chevron and Equinor subsidiaries in a claim for damages for the overlifting of crude oil under a production sharing contract, resulting in a US$1 billion award for the oil companies
• Advising contract parties under five deep offshore production contracts in disputes arising from the Nigerian government’s demand for multibillion-dollar payments in respect of alleged historical unpaid revenue
• Representing Chevron and Equinor subsidiaries in Nigerian court proceedings resulting in the landmark decision that Nigerian courts have no jurisdiction to issue anti-arbitration injunctions

Hamid is a current Co-Chair of the International Bar Association’s Insolvency and International Arbitration Working Group, the Young Africa Chair for the Institute for Transnational Arbitration, and a member of the Lagos Court of Arbitration’s Young Arbitrators Network’s Advisory Board. He previously served as Co-Chair of the International Bar Association’s Arb40 subcommittee.

Hamid has been recognised in Who’s Who Legal: Future Leaders for Arbitration and as a National Leader for arbitration in Nigeria, having been described as “an exceptional advocate” who is “sharp as a tack” and “definitely one to watch”. Hamid is also recognised in The Legal 500 UK for international arbitration and public international law. He is qualified in Nigeria and was educated at the London School of Economics and Political Science and the University of Ilorin, Nigeria.