A UK court has mandated Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) Limited to pay Nigeria £20 million in damages and compensation within the next 28 days.
This ruling follows Nigeria’s victory in an $11 billion judgment debt case heard in October, where the court found P&ID’s conduct reprehensible in obtaining the gas processing contract.
The award of £20 million in damages was revealed during a consequential ruling in London to determine the next steps after the October judgment.
The court also denied P&ID permission to appeal the case and take it back to arbitration.
The court based its decision to award damages on P&ID’s reprehensible conduct in the manner it secured the gas processing contract. Nigeria had sought at least £20 million to cover damages and legal fees.
The dispute between Nigeria and P&ID dates back to 2010 when the two parties agreed to build and operate a gas processing facility in Calabar, Cross River State.
However, the deal collapsed, leading P&ID to accuse Nigeria of breaching the contract and subsequently filing a legal action.
In 2017, a tribunal ruled that Nigeria should compensate P&ID with $6.6 billion in damages, along with pre and post-judgment interest.
In September 2020, a UK judge granted the application for Nigeria to pay the damages.
Nigeria, in response, alleged that P&ID secured the contract through bribery, a claim the company refuted.
After three years, the UK court’s October 2023 judgment freed Nigeria from the $11 billion judgment debt, citing fraud in the procurement of the gas processing contract.
Justice Robin Knowles of the Commercial Courts of England and Wales stated, “The awards were obtained by fraud, and the way in which they were procured was contrary to public policy.”
