FAR Ltd., Melbourne, and Woodside Petroleum Ltd. subsidiary Woodside Energy (Senegal) BV agreed to a settlement of the dispute arising from Woodside’s acquisition of ConocoPhillips’s stake in the joint venture covering three blocks, including the Sangomar oil discovery, offshore Senegal.
This follows FAR’s evaluation of the arbitration ruling handed down earlier in March by the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris.
Both parties have formally agreed to withdraw their respective claims and bear their own fees, costs, and expenses in the arbitration.
The arbitral tribunal has been invited to terminate the arbitration with immediate effect.
The matter was initiated by FAR in June 2017 and was heard in July 2019.
The tribunal found in favor of Woodside and declared that FAR did not have a pre-emption right over Woodside’s 2016 transaction to enter the Rufisque Offshore, Sangomar Offshore, and Sangomar Deep Offshore (RSSD) joint venture.
Woodside acquired a 35% share in the joint venture from ConocoPhillips for $350 million, but FAR maintained that a valid pre-emptive rights notice had not been issued to the JV partners by ConocoPhillips.
With the matter now settled, the shareholding in the RSSD joint venture remains at status quo: Cairn Energy PLC 40%, Woodside 35% and operatorship of the Sangomar development phase, FAR 15%, and Petrosen 10%. Petrosen also has the right to increase its equity to 18% on development.
