India's ONGC ordered to pay RM19.8m to Sime Darby, Swiber over claim dispute

PETALING JAYA: The Arbitral Tribunal has ordered India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) to pay US$5.13 million (RM19.8 million) to Sime Darby Bhd's indirect wholly-owned subsidiary Sime Darby Engineering Sdn Bhd (SDE) and Swiber Offshore Construction Pte Ltd in relation to a dispute over a field development job in India.
However, ONGC filed an application at the High Court in Mumbai, India on March 27 to set aside the decision.
Sime Darby said it is seeking legal advice from its lawyers on the next course of action.
"The Tribunal's decision is not expected to have a material effect on the earnings and the net assets of the Sime Darby group for the financial year ending June 30, 2018," it noted.
SDE and Swiber had entered into a consortium agreement dated May 19, 2010 for the execution of the project for a total contract price of US$618.38 million. The consortium and ONGC had executed the contract for the project on July 3, 2010. Disputes relating to the project have since arisen.