Belema oil: Court orders $21m contract payment

A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has ordered Belemaoil Producing Limited to pay BGP/CNPC International Nigeria Limited $21.858 million and N10.81 billion for unpaid services related to a contract.

BGP/CNPC, which is incorporated in Nigeria, filed suit No. PHC/3442/S/2022 against Belemaoil, claiming they were contracted under a tripartite agreement signed on February 4, 2019, to provide seismic acquisition services for OML 55 from April 24, 2018, to April 23, 2021.

The company asserted that it sent multiple demand letters to Belemaoil, which were acknowledged but unanswered, and that Belemaoil had instructed its banks to pay BGP/CNPC 90% of its expected cash inflow from NAPIMS. However, no payments were made. BGP/CNPC stated that this lack of payment adversely affected their business and financial commitments, leading them to pursue a summary judgment with supporting evidence, including 32 invoices and demand letters.

Belemaoil acknowledged the contract with BGP/CNPC but argued there were discrepancies in the invoices and that several meetings were held to address these issues. They claimed to have paid $7.578 million and N1.768 billion, while stating an outstanding amount of $22.358 million and N5.053 billion was due to BGP/CNPC’s non-compliance with contract terms, particularly regarding the release of data on completed work. Belemaoil contended that payments were only due upon complete delivery of seismic products and requested dismissal of BGP/CNPC’s summary judgment application.

In his judgment, Justice G. Ollor found that BGP/CNPC had been engaged by Belemaoil and that the latter had admitted its debt during meetings and in documentation presented to the court. The judge noted that there was no credible evidence disputing the debt owed to BGP/CNPC. He concluded that the case was straightforward and that BGP/CNPC’s application for summary judgment was justified since Belemaoil had no valid defense.