HCAHafez Contract Advisory
Independent contracts & commercial advisory

Thirty-nine years of contracts experience, working for you.

Contract drafting, claims and commercial management for construction, energy and government projects across the GCC (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain) and the United Kingdom. Senior attention on every engagement, with no junior handoffs.

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Services

Support at every stage of the contract.

Engagements are scoped like the contracts they concern: defined deliverables, defined timescales, and a clear fee agreed before work begins.

Contract drafting & review

Drafting, negotiation support and risk review of construction, supply and services contracts, including FIDIC and NEC forms and bespoke government terms.

Claims preparation & defence

Extension of time, prolongation, variation and disruption claims. Preparation for contractors, or review and defence for employers.

Commercial & contract administration

Ongoing contract administration, payment applications, variations, correspondence strategy and records discipline through the life of a project.

Dispute avoidance & resolution

Early-warning reviews, negotiation strategy, and support through adjudication, mediation or arbitration alongside appointed counsel.

Procurement & tendering

Tender documentation, bid reviews, contractor pre-qualification and evaluation frameworks for owners and developers.

Training & capability building

Practical workshops for project and commercial teams on contract administration, notices, and claims awareness.

About

Built on four decades of live projects.

Tower cranes silhouetted against a sunset on a construction site

Mohamed Hafez has spent 39 years managing contracts on major projects across the Gulf, EMEA and the UK, for organisations including ADNOC, ZADCO, Bechtel, KBR, Wood, Fluor, AECOM, Parsons and Hill International, in oil and gas, heavy civil, rail and construction.

That experience covers the full life of a contract: procurement and negotiation, administration under pressure on site, claims when things go wrong, and settlement when they need to be put right. Clients get that judgement directly, on a solo consultancy basis, without the overheads of a large firm.

Fluent in Arabic and English, and equally comfortable working with regional and international parties. Clients are served across the GCC and the UK, remotely or on site.

Construction Infrastructure Oil & Gas / Energy Government & Public Sector
Track record

Selected major projects.

A sample of the programmes delivered in senior contracts and commercial roles.

Shah Gas Development — Abu Dhabi, UAE

$12bn sour gas programme. Managed tendering and award of the EPC contract for the sulphur station and pipelines, coordinating eight contractors and a rail terminal handling 22,000 tonnes of granulated sulphur per day.

Raw gas & oil development — KBR

$5.8bn EPC programme. Led a contracts and procurement team of nine, delivering 20+ award recommendations on schedule and reducing contractual risk exposure by an estimated $30mn.

Upper Zakum EPC 2 — Abu Dhabi, UAE

$4.5bn offshore expansion raising production from 750,000 to 1 million barrels per day. Oversaw supply chain for 189 modules across 13 fabrication yards worldwide and executed a $500mn contract amendment.

NEOM Spine Railway — Saudi Arabia

Multi-billion dollar high-speed and freight railway. Custodian of all RFP engineering documents, with commercial oversight of a $3.5bn+ contractor portfolio and resolution of an estimated $85mn in legacy claims.

Process

A straightforward way to engage.

Most engagements begin with a single document or a single problem. The process is the same either way.

1

Initial consultation

A no-obligation call to understand the contract, the issue and the timescale. Confidentiality assured from the first conversation.

2

Scope and fee

A short written proposal setting out the deliverables, the timetable and a fixed fee, retainer or day rate. No surprises later.

3

Delivery

All work carried out personally, with clear written advice you can act on and hand to your board, your lawyers or the other party.

FAQ

Common questions.

Which regions do you serve?

The GCC (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain), the wider Middle East and the United Kingdom. Work is delivered remotely or on site, in Arabic and English.

Which contract forms do you work with?

FIDIC and NEC standard forms, bespoke EPC contracts, and government contract forms used across the Gulf and the UK.

Who do you work for?

Contractors, developers, project owners and government bodies in construction, infrastructure, oil and gas, energy and the public sector.

How are engagements priced?

A no-obligation consultation first, then a written scope with a fixed fee, retainer or day rate agreed before any work begins.

Contact

Discuss your contract in confidence.

Enquiries answered personally, usually within one working day.