About

With operations in 72 countries worldwide, BP’s presence in Southern Africa spans Angola, South Africa and Mozambique. As the world’s leading international oil and gas companies, BP provides customers in the aforementioned countries with fuel and energy used for a range of purposes. The legal team in Southern Africa oversees the upstream area of Angola, as well as the downstream businesses in South Africa and Mozambique, requiring the legal team to give legal advice on a wide range of matters. The legal team has assisted in BP Mozambique acquiring an overall 18% market share as well as the market leader in the supply of lubricants (with 35% market share) and aviation fuels (with 50% market share). The legal team has also recently guided BP South Africa in signing a formal agreement with Africa’s leading food retailer, Pick ‘n Pay, for 120 BP Express stores to be converted to Pick ‘n Pay Express stores over the next five years. Additionally it has been engaged in projects in the country, as BP is one of the largest foreign investors in Angola and their competence has been integral to its steady growth in the country. Francisco Simão is the managing counsel and vice president legal affairs for Angola, South Africa and Mozambique and leads the legal department to provide legal support to the company’s local exploration and production portfolio, which includes blocks 18 and 31 in the deep and ultra-deep waters of the Congo basin and blocks 15 and 17 in the deep waters of the Kwanza and Benguela basins. The legal team also helped launch the BPSA Education Foundation, an organisation that invests significantly on initiatives specifically aimed at developing educational programmes in under-resourced schools.