In a recent filing with Bursa Malaysia, oil and gas turnkey contractor Barakah Offshore Petroleum Bhd announced that an indefinite suspension imposed on its wholly-owned subsidiary, PBJV Group Sdn Bhd, by the national energy corporation, was lifted with effect from April 6.
The filing came on the heels of a letter, dated April 6 from Petronas strategic programme and licensing general manager Natrah Tahir, notifying PBJV of its decision to lift the suspension with immediate effect.
“Any licence renewal application by PBJV (will be) subject to assessment and consideration in accordance with the Petronas’ licensing and registration requirements,” the letter read.
The lifting of the suspension paves the way for PBJV to seek the renewal of a licence it would otherwise have held for 20 years originally.
PBJV was first awarded a licence in 2000, making it a longstanding provider of offshore and underwater works and services to Petronas to facilitate the energy corporation’s oil and gas exploration activities.
However, the licence was suspended on July 8, 2019, in response to an “adverse report” issued by Carigali, a Petronas subsidiary, to its parent company.
That was less than a year before the licence was due to expire on May 10, 2020.
If issued, the new licence will allow PBJV to participate in future tender exercises initiated by Carigali and other major oil and gas players.
The lifting of the suspension is likely to bring to an end a RM1 billion lawsuit brought by Barakah against the national energy giant and several members of its senior management in the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
Filed by solicitors Zaid Ibrahim Suflan TH Liew & Partners on Sep 30 last year, the suit named Petronas and eight members of its senior management, including president and CEO Tengku Taufik Tengku Aziz, his predecessor Wan Zulkiflee Wan Arifin, and CFO Liza Mustapha as defendants.
The suit seeks a court order to lift the suspension on PBJV and damages for unlawful interference in its trade or business.
It also wants the court to award damages for misfeasance in public office against the named officers.
In the suit, Barakah contended that the 2019 suspension had wrongfully prevented PBJV from taking part in tender exercises despite its long record of satisfactorily completing and delivering multiple projects awarded by Petronas and its subsidiaries in the preceding years.
The lifting of PBJV’s suspension came amid an attempt mounted by Petronas and its co-defendants to have the suit struck off on grounds that Barakah had no legal standing to bring it on PBJV’s behalf.
The defendants also contended that the subject matter of the action had already been litigated in an earlier suit brought by PBJV against Petronas and Carigali which was dismissed by the High Court on March 31 last year, after a full trial.
On the other hand, Barakah contended that the two grounds raised by Petronas and its co-defendants were without basis as, with the sole exception of Petronas, the case involved different parties and wholly different causes of action.
The lifting of the suspension comes in advance of the hearing of Petronas’ striking out application, which is scheduled to be heard by Justice Ahmad Shahrir Salleh on May 29.