ID :
13792
Fri, 07/25/2008 - 15:04
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Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/13792
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O.N.G.C. gets major reprieve from Australian court
New Delhi, July 25 (PTI) - Oil exploration major O.N.G.C.
has won a legal battle in Australia entitling it to claim Rs 100 crore as performance bank guarantee from Clough Engineering with which the P.S.U. had a commercial dispute over unfinished development of deep sea blocs inKrishna-Godavari basin.
The ruling by the Federal Court of Australia marks the end of a year-long dispute between the Australian and the Indian P.S.U. over unfinished U.S.D. 215 million contract for development of G1 (deep sea) and GS15 field in the KrishnaGodavari Basin of the Andhra Pradesh coast.
While Clough was given two-days time to file appeal before the Australian Supreme Court, various Australian newspapers have quoted its Chief Financial Officer Andrew Walsh saying that the company was unlikely to appeal "as theodds are stacked against us".
The Federal Court while dismissing Clough's appeal seeking to resolve the dispute in the Australian court had on July 22 also asked it to pay the cost of litigation toO.N.G.C.
The Full Bench said: "...the performance bank guarantees were unconditioned on any actual breach and did entitleO.N.G.C. to call upon them for their full amount.
The wide purpose of the performance bank guarantees and their character as reflecting an allocation of risk and a provision of security to their holder militate against any argument as to disproportion in their exercise," the 52-pagejudgement stated.
Clough in its contract with O.N.G.C. had agreed to settle any differences through arbitration in accordance with Indian laws and to the exclusive jurisdiction of courts inIndia.
However, O.N.G.C. counsel K.R. Sashiprabhu said arbitration proceedings in India are pending since September2007 before the arbitral tribunal.
has won a legal battle in Australia entitling it to claim Rs 100 crore as performance bank guarantee from Clough Engineering with which the P.S.U. had a commercial dispute over unfinished development of deep sea blocs inKrishna-Godavari basin.
The ruling by the Federal Court of Australia marks the end of a year-long dispute between the Australian and the Indian P.S.U. over unfinished U.S.D. 215 million contract for development of G1 (deep sea) and GS15 field in the KrishnaGodavari Basin of the Andhra Pradesh coast.
While Clough was given two-days time to file appeal before the Australian Supreme Court, various Australian newspapers have quoted its Chief Financial Officer Andrew Walsh saying that the company was unlikely to appeal "as theodds are stacked against us".
The Federal Court while dismissing Clough's appeal seeking to resolve the dispute in the Australian court had on July 22 also asked it to pay the cost of litigation toO.N.G.C.
The Full Bench said: "...the performance bank guarantees were unconditioned on any actual breach and did entitleO.N.G.C. to call upon them for their full amount.
The wide purpose of the performance bank guarantees and their character as reflecting an allocation of risk and a provision of security to their holder militate against any argument as to disproportion in their exercise," the 52-pagejudgement stated.
Clough in its contract with O.N.G.C. had agreed to settle any differences through arbitration in accordance with Indian laws and to the exclusive jurisdiction of courts inIndia.
However, O.N.G.C. counsel K.R. Sashiprabhu said arbitration proceedings in India are pending since September2007 before the arbitral tribunal.
