Frontier Holdings Ltd (FHL), a foreign oil and gas exploration company, has written a letter to the Petroleum Division, seeking its intervention to enforce an international court’s ruling against Petroleum Exploration (Pvt) Ltd (PEL), a local energy firm.
According to a news report, the letter, sent to the Director General of Petroleum Concessions at the Petroleum Division, highlights FHL’s victory in jurisdiction-related proceedings before the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC). The SICC overturned an earlier ruling by an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitral tribunal, which had declared it lacked jurisdiction over disputes between FHL, a foreign working interest owner (FWIO), and PEL, a Pakistani working interest owner (PWIO).
The dispute is about the Petroleum Concession Agreements and Joint Operating Agreements related to Badin IV South and Badin IV North Blocks in Sindh.
FHL had initiated arbitration proceedings under the ICC framework after a disagreement with PEL.
However, the ICC tribunal initially ruled that disputes under the Badin Concession Documents were to be resolved through domestic arbitration in Pakistan, not international arbitration under ICC auspices.
FHL contested the jurisdictional ruling, appealing to the SICC. On December 30, 2024, the SICC ruled that the ICC arbitral tribunal had erred in its interpretation of the Badin Concession Documents.
The court clarified that such disputes must be resolved through international arbitration outside Pakistan. The SICC ordered the ICC tribunal to proceed with arbitration on the matter.
Earlier, on December 10, 2024, FHL had also secured a separate ruling from the ICC arbitral tribunal, which rejected PEL’s attempt to forfeit FHL’s 27.5% working interest in the Badin Blocks. The tribunal affirmed FHL’s legal ownership and dismissed PEL’s counterclaims amounting to $483 million.
Additionally, the ICC tribunal awarded FHL $7 million in damages, including $2 million in interest calculated at a compound rate of two percent per month.
FHL noted in its letter that the awarded damages and interest will continue to accumulate until PEL fulfills the payment.
