Page 6 - LatAmOil Week 16 2021

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US court clears ExxonMobil to proceed

with lawsuit against Cuba’s Cimex

THE US federal court system has given Exx- proceed,” he said in an email sent to Bloomberg.
onMobil a green light for moving ahead with a “The decision continues to support our claim
lawsuit against a state-owned Cuban company. that ExxonMobil [should] receive compensa-
Judge Amit Mehta, the head of the US Dis- tion for its expropriated assets.”
trict Court for the District of Columbia, ruled on ExxonMobil initiated the lawsuit in 2019,
April 21 that the US-based super-major could after the administration of President Donald
proceed with a legal action against Cimex, a con- Trump removed an obstacle to claims against
glomerate run by the Cuban government. His the Cuban government over property expropri-
ruling will allow ExxonMobil to continue seek- ated after the revolution in 1959. The company
ing compensation from Havana for the seizure has said it wants compensation for the seizure of
of its Ñico Lopez refinery and other assets more a marine terminal, fuel storage tanks and hun-
than 60 years ago. dreds of filling stations, as well as the Ñico Lopez
The US company had also named Cuba’s refinery. In court filings, it has accused Cimex
national oil company (NOC) Cupet in its orig- and Cupet of “unlawful trafficking in plaintiff’s
inal complaint, which demands that Cuba confiscated property.” ™
provide $280mn in compensation for the down-
stream assets appropriated in 1960. However,
Mehta did not give ExxonMobil the go-ahead
on both fronts. Instead, he gave the US giant per-
mission to gather evidence to support its claims
with respect to Cupet’s liability.
Cimex and Cupet have been urging the court
to dismiss the suit, arguing that they were agen-
cies of a foreign government and therefore could
not be sued, per the provisions of the Foreign
Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). Mehta held,
though, that ExxonMobil could pursue its case
against Cimex because of an exception in FSIA.
Todd Spitler, a spokesman for the US com-
pany, hailed the judge’s ruling. “We agree
with the court’s decision to allow this claim to ExxonMobil is seeking compensation for the Ñico Lopez refinery (File Photo)

CURAÇAO
RdK says it has leased Bullen Bay

terminal to Mercuria Energy Trading

REFINERIA di Korsou (RdK), the govern- They did not reveal the terms of the deal but
ment-run operator of Curaçao’s only oil-pro- noted that the trading company had already sent
cessing plant, said earlier this week that it had its first shipment of fuel to the terminal.
leased a petroleum product storage facility at the The first cargo, which consisted of about
Bullen Bay terminal to Mercuria Energy Trad- 318,000 barrels of diesel, arrived in Bullen Bay
ing of Cyprus. last week on the Largo Sun, a Liberian-flagged
Representatives of the state-owned company tanker owned by Proteus 7. After discharging
told Argus Media earlier this week that RdK the fuel, it departed on April 17 and is now
had signed a lease agreement with Mercuria bound for Galveston, Texas.
last December but did not disclose the move The Bullen Bay terminal is part of RdK’s Isla
immediately. refinery complex..

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 16 22•April•2021