CPC not informed yet of court ruling, but may file appeal: CPC official

UPDATE: In response to a foreign news report that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) owes million to Standard Chartered Bank on the oil hedging issue, a senior corporation official told Adaderana that the CPC was yet unaware of such a development but if so, there were chances that it would appeal against the decision.

The official also said that this case has been ongoing and was being handled completely by the Attorney General’s Department.

When asked about the reported judgment in a British High Court by Justice Hamblen which had ‘concluded Standard Chartered Bank’s claim succeeded of $161,733,500 plus interest following derivative transactions entered into with Ceylon Petroleum Corp,’ he said chances were high that the corporation would file an appeal against the judgment.

The foreign media reports stated that Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Petroleum Corporation owes nearly $162 million plus interest to Standard Chartered Bank for non-payment of dues linked to hedging when the oil price hit a record level and then crashed, quoting a Standard Chartered Bank source.

Meanwhile, when Adaderana contacted the Petroleum Minister Susil Premajayantha a short while ago, he said that this case in London was handled entirely by Sri Lanka’s Attorney General’s Department and that the Department will take necessary future steps as deemed necessary.