A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has ordered Belemaoil Producing Limited to pay $21.858 million and N10.81 billion to BGP/CNPC International Nigeria Limited for unpaid services related to a contract.
BGP/CNPC, a Nigerian limited liability company, claimed in suit No. PHC/3442/S/2022 that a tripartite contract signed on February 4, 2019, obligated them to provide onshore and swamp seismic acquisition services for OML 55 for three years, beginning April 24, 2018.
The firm stated that it made several demand letters to Belemaoil, which were received without objection. Belemaoil had instructed its banks to ensure payments to BGP/CNPC but failed to do so. BGP/CNPC argued that this non-payment negatively affected their business, leading to the lawsuit, accompanied by extensive documentation, including 32 invoices and demand letters.
In defense, Belemaoil admitted to engaging BGP/CNPC but claimed discrepancies in the invoices and stated that payments were made totaling $7.58 million and N1.77 billion. They contended that the outstanding amounts were disputed due to BGP/CNPC’s failure to provide necessary data on completed work.
Justice G. Ollor ruled that the summary judgment would be granted as BGP/CNPC provided sufficient evidence of their engagement and Belemaoil’s acknowledgment of the debt. The judge emphasized that the claim was straightforward, and Belemaoil did not present a viable defense against the claims made by BGP/CNPC.