Fractional General Counsel for Energy and Technology Companies
Most energy and technology businesses in the Gulf hit the same wall: too much contract risk to manage without senior legal counsel, too little volume to justify a full-time General Counsel. The result is either expensive external counsel by the hour, or risk quietly accumulating in your contracts. There is a third option.
Consura acts as your Fractional General Counsel: an experienced oil & gas GC, embedded in your business for a set number of days per week or month, on a fixed fee. Same seat at your table as a full-time GC. A fraction of the cost.
How it works
1. Scope. We agree the shape of your legal workload — contracts, negotiations, governance, claims — and the time it needs: typically one to three days per week.
2. Embed. Your fractional GC works inside your business: attending negotiations, sitting with your commercial and operations teams, reporting to your board. On-site in the UAE or remote across MENA and Africa.
3. Fixed fee. One agreed monthly fee. No hourly billing, no surprise invoices, no meter running on every phone call.
4. Flex. Scale days up during a major negotiation, claim or transaction; scale down when the workload settles. Thirty days’ notice, no long lock-in.
Three ways to work with us
Contracts Desk
A standing review and negotiation capacity for your commercial contracts — service agreements, supply, charterparties, subcontracts. Defined monthly volume, fixed fee, agreed turnaround.
Fractional General Counsel ← flagship
Your embedded senior counsel: contracts and negotiations plus board and governance support, risk management, claims strategy and day-to-day commercial judgment. One to three days per week, fixed monthly fee.
Projects & Transactions
Defined-scope engagements: M&A and joint ventures, EPC and drilling contract negotiations, claims and disputes, company formation and restructuring. Fixed or capped fees agreed up front.
Built for the businesses we know best
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Oilfield and energy services companies negotiating service agreements, drilling contracts and master supply terms with operators and NOCs.
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EPC and fabrication contractors managing contract risk, variations and claims across project portfolios.
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Marine and offshore operators chartering, contracting and managing offshore support operations.
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Technology companies scaling across MENA and Africa without an in-house legal function.
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International groups entering the UAE who need a trusted local legal lead before building a team.
Counsel who has sat in your chair
Consura was founded by Marthinus Vermeulen, a legal executive with more than 20 years' experience — 17 of them in-house, including as General Counsel of leading upstream oil & gas services companies, and lead negotiator on major upstream and EPC projects across the Middle East and Africa. He has been recognised in The Legal 500 GC Powerlist in 2019, 2022 and 2023.
That background is the difference between a lawyer who drafts your contract and one who understands the rig schedule, the day rates and the operational reality behind every clause. Legal advice at Consura is practical, commercial and aligned with how your business actually runs — not merely theoretically correct.
The economics, plainly
A full-time, energy-sector General Counsel in the UAE is a seven-figure annual commitment once salary, benefits and overhead are counted. International law firm partners charge a very high per hour fee and much of that spend buys mid-level associates learning your business on your invoice.
A fractional GC gives you the senior judgment without either price tag: GC-calibre counsel, embedded in your business, at a predictable fixed fee typically a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as legal department outsourcing?
Yes, "fractional General Counsel" is the modern name for it. You get an outsourced in-house legal function led by a senior counsel, rather than a panel of external lawyers billing by the hour.
How is this different from using a law firm?
A law firm advises from outside when instructed. A fractional GC works inside your business in your negotiations, your management meetings and your board room and owns the legal function, bringing in specialist external counsel only when genuinely needed.
What if we need court representation?
As a legal consultancy we advise and manage disputes and claims strategy; where court advocacy is required, we instruct and manage trusted litigation counsel on your behalf so you always have one senior lawyer accountable for the outcome.
Can you support operations outside the UAE?
Yes. Consura supports clients across the Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, combining local-law awareness with international contracting standards.