Panel one:
João Leite, Partner, Miranda & Associados – João Leite is a Partner at Miranda & Associados’s ‘Energy and Natural Resources’ practice group. With 20 years of experience João’s practice focuses on international projects and contracting structures, notably on the petroleum sector. With a practice spreading Lusophone jurisdictions, notably Angola, Timor-Leste and São Tomé and Príncipe, João advises on regulatory matters and structuring of projects and contracts.
Chindalena Lourenço, Counsel, Fátima Freitas & Associados – Chindalena Lourenço, Of Counsel at Fatima Freitas & Associados. Graduate of the Kent Law School at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England (1999). Joined the office in 2002.
Her practice is focused on corporate law, oil & gas, and banking and financing areas in which she is recognised for her knowledge and experience. She has acted for various international oil companies investing in Angola. The matters on which she has advised span all of the legal aspects of the oil and gas activities in Angola, including the negotiation of production sharing contracts and risk service contracts with NOCs, the negotiation of joint operating agreements and joint venture agreements among IOCs, acreage farm-in and farm-outs, and unitisation and joint development agreements, among others. Her experience on corporate and foreign investment matters is also quite significant, having advised several foreign investors in a wide range of industry sectors to set up their activities in Angola.
Chindalena has also been advising Angolan and foreign banks and other financial institutions on a regular basis in banking & financial matters.
She is a regular and highly rated contributor to a number of newspapers and legal bulletins, having published several articles in Angolan publications. Chindalena is also an experienced lecturer, with considerable experience in events organized for clients on a number of oil & gas topics.
Chindalena is currently the Executive Director of Us- Angola Chamber of Commerce (USACC) and former Country representative for AIEN Angola (Association of International Energy Negotiators).
Panel two:
Paulo Bernardino, General Manager, DOF Subsea Angola – Angolan professional with over 20 years of experience in engineering, project management, and leadership roles across the Oil & Gas and Construction sectors. Currently the Managing Director at DOF Subsea Angola Ltd, Paulo oversees business development, client retention, and daily operations, ensuring alignment with organizational policies and governance. He has a proven track record in managing complex projects, including EPCI contracts and engineering solutions, with notable contributions to Angola LNG, Block 32 Kaombo, and Blocks 18 & 31.
In his earlier career, Paulo excelled in structural engineering, contributing to major infrastructure projects in Portugal, Angola, Algeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. His expertise spans structural design, project coordination, and stakeholder engagement.
Academically, Paulo holds a Master of Science in Structural Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico (Lisbon) and a Global Executive MBA from IESE Business School (Spain). He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a senior member of the Portuguese and Angolan Engineering Associations. Fluent in Portuguese and proficient in English, Paulo has authored technical papers presented at international conferences.
Miguel Marques de Carvalho, Partner, Miranda & Associados – Miguel holds a law degree from the University of Coimbra and an LL.M (Master of Laws) in Competition Law from King’s College London.
He has extensive experience in merger control, antitrust cases and competition litigation, including in private enforcement and arbitration within the European Union. Over the past 20 years, he has acted as counsel in several of the most relevant antitrust and merger control proceedings in Portugal. In 2022, Miguel joined Miranda & Associados to head Miranda Alliance’s EU & Competition practice. Since then, he has been leading the Miranda Alliance team in several merger control cases in Angola. Miguel is recognized in the field of Competition / EU law by legal directories such as Chambers and Partners and Best Lawyers.
Vanessa Silva, Partner, Fatima Freitas & Associados – Vanessa Silva, Partner at Fatima Freitas & Associados. Graduate of the Lisbon Classical Law University. She is an admitted registered to the Angolan and Portuguese Bar Association. Joined the firm in 2003.
Vanessa is Co-Head of Fatima Freitas’ Corporate and M&A Department. Her practice is focused on corporate law, Projects, M&A and foreign investment. Over the years she has been assisting clients and providing legal advice to various national and international companies doing business in Angola in several areas (including oil & gas, construction, insurance, banking, telecommunications, etc). She advised several foreign investors in a wide range of industry sectors to set up their activities in Angola and structuring their investment projects and assisted with restructuring operations, incorporation of companies, privatizations and corporate governance/ day to day secretarial issues. Vanessa also acted for various promoters and lenders in various projects in Angola in the energy, water and industrial sectors and assisted with the structuring and negotiation of Joint ventures in various areas of activity.
She is responsible for Fatima Freitas’ internal training department and she is a regular speaker in Webinars, Conferences and training sessions in various topics.
She is a regular and highly rated contributor to a number of newspapers and legal bulletins, having published several articles in Angolan publications.
