Anuol Deng Kuoreng

Anuol Deng Kuoreng is the founder and Managing Partner of Awatkeer Law Chambers, a law firm based in Juba, South Sudan. He has been named Oil & Gas Law Expert of the Year in South Sudan at the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2025, an individual recognition of his expertise in a sector that is central to the economy and future of one of the world's newest nations.

A UK-trained barrister, Kuoreng studied for his law degree and his Bar qualification at Northumbria Law School in Newcastle and was called to the Bar of England and Wales by the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn in London. This training in the English legal tradition, combined with his deep local knowledge of South Sudan, gives him a distinctive perspective on the legal questions facing businesses and government in the country. He founded Awatkeer Law Chambers, which was established as a limited liability partnership, and has led the firm as it has grown into one of the country's most prominent legal practices.

While Kuoreng is described as a specialist across many areas of the law, his recent work has been heavily concentrated in oil and gas and in commercial matters, including international arbitration cases. Oil and gas is the mainstay of South Sudan's economy, and the sector presents a wide range of legal challenges, from the negotiation and interpretation of production and service contracts to questions of regulation, revenue, local content and the resolution of disputes between international operators, service companies and the state. Advising in this field requires both a command of complex commercial and contractual arrangements and an understanding of the particular legal and institutional environment of South Sudan, and it is this combination that underpins Kuoreng's recognition as an expert.

Under his leadership, Awatkeer Law Chambers has established itself as a significant presence in the South Sudanese legal market. The firm entered into a strategic alliance with the pan-African legal services provider Centurion Law Group, an arrangement that has been described as bringing the first international law firm capability into the country. Through this alliance, the combined offering pairs Awatkeer's established local presence and network with Centurion's pan-African reach and its recognised energy practice, allowing clients to access both local expertise and international resources. For a jurisdiction seeking to attract and manage investment in its energy sector, this bridge between local and international legal capability is of considerable importance.

Kuoreng's work reflects the wider role that lawyers play in the development of a young nation's economy. As South Sudan works to develop its oil and gas resources and to present itself as open for business, the availability of experienced legal advisers who can guide investors, operators and government through complex transactions and disputes is essential. Kuoreng's dual grounding in the English Bar and in the realities of South Sudanese practice positions him to serve precisely this function, advising on high-value energy matters and on the international arbitration proceedings that can accompany them.

The recognition of Anuol Deng Kuoreng as Oil & Gas Law Expert of the Year in South Sudan at the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2025 affirms his standing as a leading practitioner in the country's most important sector. Through Awatkeer Law Chambers and its international alliance, he continues to provide the specialist legal expertise on which the development of South Sudan's energy economy depends.