Statoil will recur to court in Nigeria to settle a dispute over oil fields shares valued at 9.5 billion. The company lost similar case in arbitration court last year.
Now Statoil will bring the case to the Federal Supreme Court in Lagos, the newspaper Dagens Næringsliv writes. The backdrop to the lawsuit is a year-long dispute about the adjustment of ownership in Agbami field offshore Nigeria.
When the field was put into production, it had two licenses, each with a separste owner. The owners were both agreed on adjusting the ownership structure, and in a so-called redetermination based on an expert assessment Statoil’s stake was reduced from 20.21 percent to 15.04 percent. The reduction corresponds to values of 9.5 billion.
– We believe that we have relevant arguments that have not been adequately taken into account in this process. Therefore, we will pursue this matter in court. We agree that there should be a redetermination based on the information that production has provided, but we believe that the foundation and the conclusion is wrong, information director Bård Glad Pedersen, Statoil, says to DN.
The arbitration court case from last year was about the basis of the assesments of the expert committee, and it is this decision Statoil now will try for the Supreme Court. In addition, Pedersen says that the Norwegian oil giant intends to take the reduction of the ownership of the arbitral tribunal.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
