By Sami Zaptia.
London, 3 March 2020:
Libya’s Sirte Oil Company reported yesterday that it had obtained an arbitral award in its favour from the Arbitral Tribunal of the International Chamber of Commerce Arbitral Tribunal (ICC) in a case brought against it by India’s Punj Lloyd. It reports it was awarded compensation in excess of US$ 5 million.
The claim by Punj Lloyd was related to damages it sought of approximately US$ 205 million related to the Tripoli-Khoms and Khoms-Mellitah pipeline projects. The Arbitral Tribunal rejected Punj Lloyd’s claims.
Punj had US $800 million worth of projects in Libya when Libya’s 2011 revolution halted all its activities. Its projects include three construction and two drilling projects. Work at the five major Punj projects in Libya were halted in the early days of the revolution, which had forced most other foreign companies to evacuate workers. Around 18,000 Indian citizens, including medical staff, teachers and other specialists were evacuated.
In 2011, Punj Lloyd was one of ten major Indian private investors in Libya. A further four firms from India’s state-owned sector, including Oil India Ltd, ONGC, BHEL and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, also had an operational presence in Libya.
In 2014 Punj Lloyd had signed an agreement for a LD 665-million deal to design and install infrastructural facilities in Zliten with Libya’s state Housing and Infrastructure Board (HIB), part of the Ministry of Housing.
Punj Lloyd is India’s third largest engineering company with a turnover of about US$ 800 million. it has nearly 9,000 employees and 24 international offices. It describes itself as a diversified international conglomerate in EPC services in energy, infrastructure, engineering, manufacturing and defence.
On 29 February Libya’s Mellitah Oil had announced that it had successfully defended its case against POSH Offshore services before the Dutch court of Amsterdam.
India looks to Libya to help revive flagging domestic growth
HIB finalizes Zliten LD 665-million utilities contract with Punj Lloyd