By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Sept 18: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (PETRONAS) has launched legal action against South Sudan for allegedly obstructing a $1.25 billion sale of its local assets and seizing control of the business.
According to an Aug 26 report by Reuters, the Malaysia national oil and gas company had on Aug 7 announced its decision to exit South Sudan after nearly 30 years of operations.
PETRONAS had been in negotiations to sell its assets to Britain’s Savannah Energy, but the deal collapsed the same day.
Following the deal’s breakdown, South Sudan’s state-owned Nile Petroleum took over the oil fields and assets, stating that it was seeking international partners to maintain operations and boost production at the oil blocks.
In a statement to Reuters, PETRONAS confirmed it had initiated arbitration proceedings at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes regarding the sale of its South Sudanese operations.
The company however declined to provide further details, citing the ongoing legal process under the World Bank’s jurisdiction.
It was reported that earlier this year, oil exports from South Sudan, which rely on a pipeline passing through Sudan, faced disruptions due to the conflict in Sudan. — DayakDaily
