On August 16, 2019, the England and Wales High Court of Justice
(Commercial Court) released its decision in Process &
Industrial Developments Limited v The Federal Republic of Nigeria
("Process & Industrial Developments"), [2019] EWHC
2241, in which it enforced a US$9 billion arbitral award against
the Republic of Nigeria ("Nigeria"). The enforcement of
this 'mega-award' is significant for oil and gas companies
doing business abroad and also for the practice of international
commercial arbitration.
The Decision
Process & Industrial Developments Ltd. ("PID"), a
BVI entity, entered a "Gas Supply and Processing
Agreement" with Nigeria (the "Agreement"). Under the
Agreement, PID was to build and operate a gas processing plant for
"wet gas" to be supplied from the Nigerian Ministry of
Petroleum Resources. The Agreement had a 20 year term. Furthermore,
the Agreement contained an arbitration clause, which stated: