Oilex Ltd., Perth, has executed a deed of settlement and release with East Timor national company Autoridade Nacional Do Petroleo E Minerals (ANPM) to end lengthy arbitration proceedings arising from the termination of a production sharing contract in the Timor Sea by ANPM in 2015 (OGJ Online, May 15, 2015).
The settlement includes all claims and counterclaims between the parties.
Oilex said the permit referred to is in the joint petroleum development area between East Timor and Australia (the former JDPA 06-103) and execution of the deed provides an amicable conclusion to the proceedings.
The company has committed to a settlement of $800,000 payable in the 2021 and 2022 financial years.
In addition, Oilex has entered into an unsecured loan facility agreement with two of its JV partners which further provides the company with the option, at its sole discretion, to extend the settlement payments into the 2023-24 financial year.
Originally Oilex and its JV partners in the PSC were subject to a penalty claim of $17 million plus interest on a joint and several basis. The company subsequently lodged a counterclaim against the ANPM for $23.3 million plus interest for damages arising from what the JV claimed was the wrongful termination of the PSC (Aug. 21, 2019).