Unaoil Ltd v Leighton Offshore Offshore Pte Ltd (Rev 1)
2014
COMMERCIAL COURT
United Kingdom
CORAM
- MR JUSTICE EDER
Areas of Law
- Contract Law
- Commercial Law
- Civil Procedure
2014
COMMERCIAL COURT
United Kingdom
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
Unaoil, a BVI company, sued Leighton Offshore, a Singapore entity, for breaches under a Memorandum of Agreement related to the Iraq Crude Oil Expansion Project. Unaoil claimed debts, liquidated damages, and damages for breach. The court awarded Unaoil $12,577,500 for debts and $5.8 million in damages, while it rejected the $40 million liquidated damages as a penalty.
Judgment
Mr Justice Eder:
Introduction
The claimant (“Unaoil”) is a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and is part of the Unaoil Group of companies (“Unaoil Group”), the holding company of which is UNAEnergy (Holdings) Pte Ltd. Its head offices are in Monte Carlo. The Unaoil Group was founded in 1991. It provides oil and gas services in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa and now has approximately 200 employees (excluding temporary and project based employees and contractors). Unaoil provides a wide range of services across the oil and gas sector, principally in challenging locations such as Iraq. Those services include engineering and construction, provision of specialist technical workforces, camp solutions, equipment and aftermarket services and business advisory services.
The defendant (“Leighton Offshore”) is a company incorporated in Singapore and is a leading engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and life of field services constructor.
The disputes between Unaoil and Leighton Offshore arise against the background of a substantial oil infrastructure project, known as the Iraq Crude Oil Expansion Project (also known as the “Phase I Project" or “ICOEEP”). The Phase I Project was part of a series of projects undertaken as part of the Government of Iraq's efforts to rebuild Iraq's oil export infrastructure.
The present proceedings concern various claims made by Unaoil against Leighton Offshore under a Memorandum of Agreement between the parties dated 10 December 2010 (“JICA MOA”) as amended pursuant to which Unaoil says that Leighton Offshore appointed Unaoil as its sub-contractor for the onshore works component of the installation of an oil pipeline in the Al-Basra South region of Iraq and the northern Arabian/Persian Gulf referred to variously as the “JICA Project”, “Phase III” and the “Sealine Project”. Unaoil advances three main claims viz:
A debt claim in the aggregate sum of US$12,577,500 pursuant to Exhibit 3 of the JICA MOA.
A claim for liquidated damages in the sum of US$40 million pursuant to Article 8 of the JICA MOA.
A claim for damages for Leighton Offshore’s repudiatory breach of the JICA MOA quantified in the sum of US$29,847,167 alternatively US$26,720,297.
The Evidence
On behalf of Unaoil, the following individuals provided signed written statements and gave oral evidence:
Mr Ata Ahsani. He is the Chairman of the Board of the Unaoil Group His involvement in operational matters is limited.