$13.8 Million Debt Case: The Federal High Court in Lagos has authorized Petrolex Oil & Gas Limited to advertise its petition to wind up Energy Link Infrastructure Limited (ELI) over an alleged unpaid debt of $13,837,235.98 related to charter party agreements.
Justice Akintayo Aluko issued the order on May 23, 2025, in Suit No. FHC/L/CP/26/2023, after determining that Petrolex had presented adequate grounds for the winding-up petition under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020.
Petrolex’s claim arises from two charter party agreements (CPA 1 and CPA 2) concerning the transportation of crude oil, where it supplied barges to ELI, a subsidiary of Eroton Exploration & Production involved in the OML 18 joint venture.
Petrolex alleged that although it fulfilled its contractual duties, ELI defaulted on payments, resulting in the outstanding debt.
In October 2022, Petrolex terminated the agreements due to repeated payment defaults, referring to the contracts’ payment terms requiring settlement within seven days of invoice issuance, with interest accruing at LIBOR plus 2 percent for late payments.
Despite issuing several statutory demands—including a default notice (October 11, 2022), a termination notice (October 18, 2022), and a statutory demand notice (November 11, 2022)—ELI failed to make payment, leading to the winding-up petition.
Justice Aluko ruled that ELI’s counter-affidavit partially admitted to owing a lesser amount, which the court treated as an admission of debt.
The court also found that ELI’s failure to respond to Petrolex’s statutory demands amounted to an implied admission of liability.
ELI’s counter-affidavit and written address were struck out because they were sworn by the company’s legal counsel, rather than a person with direct knowledge of the facts, violating professional conduct rules.
Still on $13.8 Million Debt Case
Accordingly, the court directed Petrolex to advertise the winding-up petition in national newspapers in accordance with the Companies Winding-Up Rules, and ordered Petrolex’s lawyers to notify the court of the publication costs. The substantive hearing is scheduled for September 25, 2025.
ELI has filed an application seeking a stay of execution of the court’s order and an injunction to prevent Petrolex from proceeding further with the winding-up process.
A notice of appeal has also been filed at the Court of Appeal.
In a related case (Suit No. FHC/L/CP/1083/2023), Petrolex is pursuing ELI for an additional \$4.59 million in outstanding vessel hire charges, ₦20 million in general damages, and ₦2 million in legal fees. This claim also stems from the same charter party agreements, which specified \$3,000 per day per vessel for the hire of eight vessels.
Petrolex claimed that ELI not only failed to pay the agreed amounts but also refused to release four vessels, causing further losses and disruption.
ELI had sought a stay of proceedings and an order for arbitration under the charter party agreements, but the court dismissed the request, ruling that no dispute existed warranting arbitration since ELI had admitted the debt and failed to respond to statutory demands.
The trial began on March 10, 2025, with Petrolex presenting its case through its sole witness, Mr. Olufemi Fadina, and submitting four exhibits. The case was adjourned to July 8, 2025, for ELI to begin its defence after its counsel failed to appear on May 21, 2025.
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