April 09, 2010, 12:03 AM EDT
By Laurel Brubaker Calkins
April 9 -- Astra Oil Trading NV and two affiliates yesterday asked a Texas state judge to uphold a $639 million damage award it won in a 2009 arbitration against Petrobras America Inc. over a refinery dispute.
A federal judge previously upheld the arbitration award and on March 12 ordered Petrobras to pay Astra for its 50 percent stake in a Pasadena, Texas, oil refinery the two companies co- owned. Both the U.S. judge and arbitrators agreed with Astra, that the unit of Brazil’s national oil company was contractually obligated to buy Astra’s interests when the two disagreed over Petrobras’s plans to expand the refinery.
Astra filed its request in state court yesterday to preserve its right to continue seeking payment from Petrobras, if the Brazilian company wins its appeal to dismiss the federal court order.
The company filed yesterday’s request “in the extremely unlikely event” that the federal court is found not to have jurisdiction, Beth Bivans, a lawyer for Astra, said in the filing.
Bivans asked the state court not to act on its request “until after a final, non-appealable decision is issued” by the federal court system.
The refinery, Pasadena Refining System Inc., is located on the Houston Ship Channel and has a capacity of 100,000 barrels a day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Lilian Laranja, spokeswoman for Petrobras parent Petroleo Brasileiro SA in Rio de Janeiro, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment yesterday.
The state case is Astra Oil Trading NV v. Petrobras America Inc., 2010-22326, 129th Judicial District Court, Harris County, Texas (Houston). The federal case is Astra Oil Trading NV v. Petrobras America Inc., 4:09-cv-01274, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas (Houston).
Source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-09/astra-seeks-to-uphold-639-million-petrobras-refinery-award.html
By Laurel Brubaker Calkins
April 9 -- Astra Oil Trading NV and two affiliates yesterday asked a Texas state judge to uphold a $639 million damage award it won in a 2009 arbitration against Petrobras America Inc. over a refinery dispute.
A federal judge previously upheld the arbitration award and on March 12 ordered Petrobras to pay Astra for its 50 percent stake in a Pasadena, Texas, oil refinery the two companies co- owned. Both the U.S. judge and arbitrators agreed with Astra, that the unit of Brazil’s national oil company was contractually obligated to buy Astra’s interests when the two disagreed over Petrobras’s plans to expand the refinery.
Astra filed its request in state court yesterday to preserve its right to continue seeking payment from Petrobras, if the Brazilian company wins its appeal to dismiss the federal court order.
The company filed yesterday’s request “in the extremely unlikely event” that the federal court is found not to have jurisdiction, Beth Bivans, a lawyer for Astra, said in the filing.
Bivans asked the state court not to act on its request “until after a final, non-appealable decision is issued” by the federal court system.
The refinery, Pasadena Refining System Inc., is located on the Houston Ship Channel and has a capacity of 100,000 barrels a day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Lilian Laranja, spokeswoman for Petrobras parent Petroleo Brasileiro SA in Rio de Janeiro, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment yesterday.
The state case is Astra Oil Trading NV v. Petrobras America Inc., 2010-22326, 129th Judicial District Court, Harris County, Texas (Houston). The federal case is Astra Oil Trading NV v. Petrobras America Inc., 4:09-cv-01274, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas (Houston).
Source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-09/astra-seeks-to-uphold-639-million-petrobras-refinery-award.html
Comments
Post a Comment