Petronas Subsidiaries Seized Again In USD15 Billion Arbitration By The Sulus

The latest seizures were ordered by Luxembourg court bailiffs.

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This week, the Luxembourg Court issued a new confiscation order on two Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) subsidiaries.

International news agency Reuters reported it in an article dated 16 Feb.

The article carried the headline ‘Petronas units in Luxembourg seized again in US$15 billion arbitration dispute’.

It stated that the Luxembourg court bailiff issued a new seizure order for the units involved this week.

It followed a claim by the heirs of the Sulu Sultanate, who are seeking to enforce the USD15 billion award they obtained against Malaysia, according to the heirs’ lawyers and court documents sighted by Reuters.

Petronas will continue to defend its legal position, maintains action by Sulu claimants baseless pic.twitter.com/mQBN9Tplgd
— BERNAMA TV 🇲🇾 (@BernamaTV) February 17, 2023

In response, Petronas asserted that the claim by the heirs of the Sulu group against its two subsidiaries in Luxembourg (Luxcos) is unfounded.

Petronas said it would continue to defend its position in the legal sense.

pic.twitter.com/DWpr7l3flO
— PETRONAS (@Petronas) February 17, 2023

Petronas is a Malaysian oil and gas company that is state-owned.

It was founded in 1974 and is one of the largest corporations in Southeast Asia, with operations in over 50 countries.

Dispute With The Sulus

Sultan Sulu refers to the title held by the traditional ruler of the Sulu Archipelago, a chain of islands in the southern Philippines.

The title has a long and complex history, but modern times it is largely ceremonial and holds little political power.

In 2013, there was a dispute between Petronas and the Sulu Sultanate over the ownership of an area in Sabah.

The Sulu Sultanate, which has a historical claim to Sabah, sent a group of armed militants to occupy the area, leading to a standoff with Malaysian authorities.

Surprise!🤯Malaysia was actually never the first owners of Sabah.

In fact, Sabah used to belong to Brunei, up until they were given to the Sultanate of Sulu more than 300 years ago. 🇧🇳

[2/7] pic.twitter.com/t5ICwBAdw5
— Wiki Impact (@wikiimpact) February 9, 2023

Following the incident, the Malaysian government engaged in negotiations with the representatives of the Sultanate of Sulu to resolve the dispute peacefully.

As part of the settlement, the Malaysian government agreed to pay a sum of money to the heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu.

The exact amount of the payment has not been disclosed publicly.

Blast From The Past

The dispute dates back to the 17th century when the Sultanate of Sulu controlled the northern part of Borneo, which includes the present-day state of Sabah in Malaysia.

After the Philippines gained independence in 1946, the Sulu Sultanate continued to assert its claim to Sabah, which it argues was leased to the British North Borneo Company in the late 1800s.

Petronas, a Malaysian state-owned company, has significant operations in Sabah, including oil and natural gas exploration and extraction.

The Sulu Sultanate claimed it was entitled to a portion of the revenue generated by Petronas from these operations.

The 2013 dispute was ultimately resolved through a military operation launched by the Malaysian government.

It resulted in the militants’ defeat and reasserted Malaysia’s control over the area.

However, the underlying territorial dispute between the Sulu Sultanate and Malaysia remains unresolved, and tensions continue to simmer in the region.