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Taqa Bratani and Spirit Energy lose their assets case against Viaro’s CEO: Taqa’s UK subsidiary Taqa Bratani and the UK’s Spirit Energy lost their case against the CEO of Viaro Energy, Francesco Mazzagatti, who was accused of stripping mns of USD of assets from their joint venture, in England’s High Court, the Financial Times reports. The lawsuit stemmed from a dispute between Viaro Energy’s subsidiary RockRose and Taqa and Spirit Energy over decommissioning liabilities for their JV in the Brae oilfield in the North Sea, Energy People reports.
What went down? Taqa and Spirit claimed that Viaro intentionally removed the value from their partnership and caused its collapse by declaring an USD 84 mn dividend from RockRose’s operating unit UKCS8. Meanwhile, UKCS8 owed about GBP 110 mn in security funds under its Decommissioning Security Agreement (DSA) but struggled to pay up and ended up insolvent with GBP 35 mn in unpaid debt. The British operating unit was sold to Fujairah Oil and Gas (FIOGC), which Viaro claimed was a step to use the UAE company’s credit rating as a state-owned company to provide the necessary guarantee.
The court dismissed all allegations, ruling that the dividend and subsequent sale of UKCS8 to FIOGC were legitimate commercial decisions. It also declared that Viaro sold UKCS8 to FIOGC to resolve a “deadlock with Taqa” and secure funding for decommissioning obligations. The company rejected claims that the dividend was a scheme to extract assets, describing it as a “necessary adjunct” to the sale.
What’s next? Taqa said it remained confident of the allegations Taqa Bratani brought against Viara, but will be “carefully considering” its next steps, including “whether any appeals will be applied for,” the company announced.
