South Pacific Oil Limited v Pacific Islands Energy Pte Ltd

Case Significance

In South Pacific Oil Ltd v Pacific Islands Energy Pte Ltd ([2026] SGHC(I) 7), Thomas Bathurst IJ of the Singapore International Commercial Court delivered judgment on 25 June 2026 in Originating Application No 18 of 2025, heard on 11 March 2026. The claimant, South Pacific Oil Limited, sought to set aside a Final Award dated 28 August 2025 issued in SIAC Arbitration No. 108 of 2023, which had ordered it to pay the defendant, Pacific Islands Energy Pte Ltd, US$18,795,413.69 plus simple interest at 8.34% per annum from 28 May 2024, along with costs and arbitration fees; the claimant also sought a declaration that the tribunal had erred in a negative jurisdictional ruling on whether the liquidated damages claimed were penal and unenforceable, invoking sections 10(3)(b) and 24(b) of the International Arbitration Act 1994 (2020 Rev Ed) and Article 34 of the UNCITRAL Model Law. The judgment cites 13 authorities — 12 Singapore and 1 foreign — and references the Arbitration Act and the International Arbitration Act.