Sudan wants ONGC Videsh to withdraw arbitration over oil payment dues

Sudan wants India`s ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) to withdraw arbitration proceedings against the African nation as it is making efforts to mitigate default on payment of dues, OVL said in a statement on Friday.

OVL, the foreign acquisition unit of Oil and Natural Gas Corp`s (ONGC), filed an arbitration claim earlier this year against the government of Sudan in a London court seeking to recover dues pending for years from a project hit by the breakaway of South Sudan in 2011.

Earlier this week, a Sudanese delegation including its finance and foreign affairs minister met ONGC officials seeking withdrawal of the arbitration proceedings.

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OVL, however, said it would continue with the arbitration process and work simultaneously with Sudan to find out a suitable mechanism of resolving the issues.

At the centre of the dispute is ONGC`s 25 percent stake that the company had acquired in the Greater Nile Oil Project (GNOP) in Sudan in 2003. Other stakeholders include China`s China National Petroleum Corp with a 40 percent stake and Malaysia`s Petronas with a 30 percent share.

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