KBC loses case to Pertamina<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A Singapore appeal court has ruled in favor of PT Pertamina and
\nrejected Karaha Bodas Company's claim on the state oil and gas
\nfirm's assets in the latest round of a lengthy legal battle
\nbetween the two firms.<\/p>\n
The ruling, issued on Wednesday, reinforces a previous ruling
\nof a lower court in March, Pertamina said in an e-mailed
\nstatement on Thursday.<\/p>\n
KBC wanted to seize assets of Pertamina's trading arms --
\nPertamina Energy Trading Ltd. (Petral) and Pertamina Energy
\nServices Ltd. (PES) -- amounting to US$36 million.<\/p>\n
\"We can refer to this ruling in our defense in other courts,\"
\nPertamina spokesman Mochamad Harun said.<\/p>\n
The legal saga of Pertamina and KBC involved the former
\nchallenging asset freeze orders requested by the latter in U.S.,
\nCanadian, Hong Kong, Singaporean and Indonesian courts.<\/p>\n
KBC was one of 27 independent power producers whose projects
\nwere terminated by the government -- as recommended by the
\nInternational Monetary Fund -- following the 1997 economic
\ncrisis.<\/p>\n
The company, which signed a contract with Pertamina on the
\nproject, filed a lawsuit with an international arbitration court
\nagainst Pertamina for breach of contract.<\/p>\n
The Swiss-based arbitration court ruled in 2000 favor of KBC,
\nordering Pertamina to pay the firm $261 million. A U.S. court
\nupheld the ruling and ordered Pertamina to pay $291 million in
\ncompensation, which has since risen to over $300 million due to
\ninterest accrued.<\/p>\n
As Pertamina refused to pay the compensation, in August 2002,
\na U.S. district court froze $285 million, belonging to the
\ngovernment of Indonesia and Pertamina, deposited in the Bank of
\nAmerica and the Bank of New York.<\/p>\n
KBC is owned by private U.S. firms Caithness Energy LLC and
\nFlorida Power and Light Co., in addition to local firm PT Sumirah
\nDaya Sakti.<\/p>\n
The governmentis still trying to seek an out-of-court
\nsettlement with KBC.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kbc-loses-case-to-pertamina-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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