Rubicon Offshore is continuing to press ahead with legal proceedings against KrisEnergy, filing another statutory demand against its fellow Singaporean company.

KrisEnergy revealed Wednesday that Rubicon had filed a statutory demand for about US$920,000 in the Cayman Islands against its subsidiary KrisEnergy (Gulf of Thailand) Ltd (KEGOT).

The demand states that if payment is not made within 21 days of KEGOT receiving the statutory demand, then Rubicon could present the KrisEnergy subsidiary with a winding up petition.

Long running battle

It is the latest move in the legal battle between the two companies which stems from a claim Rubicon filed against KrisEnergy two years ago as guarantor under a bareboat charter party dated October 2014 for the Rubicon Vantage floating storage and offloading vessel.

Earlier this year, KEGOT issued proceedings in the High Court of Justice Business and Property Courts of England and Wales against Rubicon seeking damages for breaches of the bareboat charter, damages for misrepresentation and an indemnity in respect of a judgement amount previously awarded by the English High Court.

Earlier this year, Rubicon Vantage International also filed a statutory demand for US$2.84 million, including claimed interest of some US$1.01 million, in the Cayman Islands against KEGOT.

The demand also stated that if the debt was not paid within 21 days of being served or a settlement reached, Rubicon could present a winding up petition against KEGOT.

At the time, KrisEnergy said it would “vigorously challenge” Rubicon if the demand was not promptly withdrawn.

The demand came despite the Singapore High Court last year granting a moratorium restraining Rubicon from taking any enforcement steps within the jurisdiction of Singapore or elsewhere, including but not limited to pursuing the winding up of KrisEnergy.

KrisEnergy said Wednesday it would update stakeholders of any material developments related to the proceedings “as and when appropriate”.

The Rubicon Vantage was deployed at KrisEnergy’s Wassana oilfield in the Gulf of Thailand, however the charter agreement was recently terminated as KrisEnergy halted output at the field due to the decline in oil prices amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

It was also revealed last month that Rubicon was exploring options for the sale of the company and/or its two vessels, which also includes the Rubicon Intrepid which is working at the Galoc oilfield in the Philippines and is due to come off contract this September.

Independent audit

The latest update on the legal proceedings with Rubicon also came as independent auditors Deloitte & Touche issued an assessment on the material uncertainty related to KrisEnergy’s ability to continue as a going concern as part of its audit of the company’s 2019 financial results.

Deloitte & Touche noted it in its assessment that KrisEnergy’s ability to continue as a going concern was dependent on a number of factors, including the support of major stakeholders in the company’s debt restructuring.

In response, KrisEnergy’s board said it believed the company would be able to continue as a going concern, taking into consideration a recent credit facility agreement entered into with Kepinvest Singapore, a subsidiary of major stakeholder Keppel Corporation.

Under that facility, the lender has agreed to a project financing loan of up to US$87 million to fund the development of Block A in Cambodia.

KrisEnergy added Wednesday that it was confident it would maintain continued support from Keppel in regards to the Block A development.

The board also noted that it had appointed financial and legal advisors to assist in the restructuring and/or extension of its debt obligations.

The board said it was confident the company’s major stakeholders would continue to support the company’s debt restructuring and believes it will be able to achieve a restructuring of its debt.

For the year to 31 December 2019 KrisEnergy recorded losses of US$168.9 million, which resulted in a capital deficiency of US$145.9 million and net current liability position of US$531.7 million.

As of 31 December, KrisEnergy had not made principal and interest payments due in respect of debts totaling US$310.7 million.

Finance

Legal dispute between Singaporean players rumbles on