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Category: Industry / Mining Industry / Law, Crime and Justice / Courts and Trials

Clive Palmer loses court battle over $23m debt

Friday, 4 Mar 2016 15:44:42 | Josh Bavas

Clive Palmer claimed he could not make payments due to cash-flow issues with his related companies. (AAP: Mick Tsikas)

Clive Palmer has lost a court battle over a debt to an exploration company who surveyed petroleum deposits in the Gulf of Papua.

Mr Palmer's energy company, Palmer Petroleum, filed action in the Supreme Court in Brisbane in an attempt not to pay BGP GeoExplorer nearly $23 million for exploration work.

On July 28, 2010, Palmer Petroleum and BGP GeoExplorer entered into a written agreement to survey three tenements in the Gulf.

BGP GeoExplorer were required to deliver a report containing survey data and a comprehensive prospects inventory for each tenement.

The court heard Mr Palmer complained about the quality of the report and also claimed he could not make certain payments due to cash-flow issues with his related companies Mineralogy and Citic Pacific.

In an affidavit submitted to court in January, Mr Palmer said he was unhappy with the services for a number of reasons.

"I was disappointed with the results and interpretation provided by BGP because the amount of gas recorded was low and the report did not contain any interpretation or conclusions regarding other petroleum products," he said.

But Justice David Boddice dismissed Mr Palmer's application.

"The respondent (BGP Geoexplorer Pte. Ltd) undertook the work required of it and forwarded invoices in relation thereto," Justice Bodice said.

"Far from disputing an obligation to pay those amounts, the applicant (Palmer Petroleum) entered into replacement deeds and repayment plans.

"When those arrangements were not met by the applicant, the applicant apologised for non-payment and candidly acknowledged that non-payment was due to cash flow problems.

"Against that background, a belated attempt to avoid payment by claims of failure by the respondent to perform its obligations amounts to nothing more than a cynical attempt to deflect responsibility for a debt."

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