Singapore’s Keppel Corporation has been served with a legal claim related to two engineering, procurement and construction contracts for floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units.
Namely, Keppel Offshore & Marine subsidiaries have received a request for arbitration from an unnamed counterparty, which has according to Keppel, withheld a total of approximately $11.3m under the contracts and has claimed a further payment of around $31.2m, claiming it is entitled to a price reduction under the contracts.
Keppel Corp said the subsidiaries, in consultation with legal advisors, deny the counterparty’s right to such price reductions and ‘vehemently challenge’ the right to withhold payments due as well as its supposed right to claim such price reductions.
“Keppel Offshore & Marine subsidiaries intend to vigorously defend the claim and in addition, seek remedies, including counterclaims for the sums unduly withheld by the claimant, against the claimant to the fullest extent under the EPC contracts and at law,” the company said in a statement.
One of the world’s largest offshore oil rig builders is currently in discussions with Sembcorp Marine about a possible merger of their offshore and marine businesses.
