The Mexican government will have to pay $270 million in compensation to a group of investors in Integradora de Servicios Petroleros Oro Negro, following a ruling by a Canadian court that overturned a decision issued by an arbitration panel in 2024.
In August 2024, the Arbitration Tribunal established under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the plaintiffs’ claims and even ordered them to pay $400,000 to Mexico for arbitration costs.
However, Oro Negro appealed the decision, and the Canadian court reversed the ruling, ordering the Mexican state to pay the $270 million to the drilling company’s partners in a final and unappealable decision.
The appellate body accepted the claim that the arbitration panel had dismissed, arguing that one of the arbitrators, Chilean Andrés Jana, failed to disclose a potential conflict of interest in the case, according to reports from Global Arbitration Review.
Investors alleged that in 2015 Pemex pressured the company to accept a reduction in lease fees for five oil platforms, in addition to suspending existing contracts.
They also alleged that in 2017 the Mexican oil company illegally terminated the contracts, accusing it of doing so after refusing to bribe officials, while favoring competing companies.
The case, also known as Alicia Grace, involves 27 investors, including Ampex Retirement Master Trust, Apple Oaks Partners, Brentwood Associates, Grupo Cambria, and Axis Oil Services.
Mexico accumulates adverse rulings in international courts. This represents the second setback for Mexico in less than a week. Days earlier, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in favor of Lion Mexico Consolidated, ordering the country to pay $47 million for failing to protect investments.
Source: informador
