Sonatrach Asks Saipem To Pay A Compensation Worth 3000 DZD

Algerian oil company Sonatrach continues its new strategy to counter the attack in the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris for international arbitration against the Italian Saipem, where the Algerian side presented a file and asked for compensation in two additional projects in which the financial sum reached 2.6 billion euros, or approximately 3000 billion DZD.

Report of Saipem’s financial outcome of the first four months of 2016 shows that the dispute over the gaz field project Menzel Ladjmet, in the east of Hassi Messaoud (southern Algeria) at the body the International Chamber of Arbitration in Paris, against Sonatrach has taken new dimensions, because the Algerian party asked for compensation by the party Italian company which did not respect its obligations.

The report, which copy is available to Echorouk, in its page No. 110, said that Sonatrach presented its defensive reports to the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, for the file of international arbitration which was raised by Saipem against it in the gas field project in Hassi Messaoud, adding that the report was submitted in coordination with its partner in the field, which is the Canadian Forest Oil Calgary.

Sonatrach provided its defensive reports on August,14, 2015, which included a request by Sonatrach to pay a compensation worth 256 million euros, because of its prejudice to the obligations, which is equivalent to about 3000 billion centimes, and it also made a unilateral request for compensating Sonatrach on the value of bribes that were paid by Saipem to win the deal, which financial value that was received through Pearl Partners company which owner is Farid Bedjaoui, and which value worth about 41 million euros, about 50 billion DZD, and a financial compensation for the moral damage which is the result of the commission  that was paid, worth up to 20 million euros, more than 25 billion DZD.

Sonatrach strengthened its defensive reports with two additional files in May 15, and June,30, 2016, while the hearings in the dispute will continue to many months, after they were launched in last August in Paris.

Sonatrach went to the same approach in the dispute over the construction of liquefied natural gas complex project in Arzew, Oran Province (Western Algeria) “GNLD3Z Arziew”, where the Algerian part gave defensive memoirs asking Saipem to pay very importan compensation of up to US $ 1.6 billion, more than 17.000 billion DZD, for the damage that was caused by the non-fulfilment of contractual obligations in the project.