Kuala lumpur: The Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of Petronas, overturning the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s January decision that allowed Shell MDS (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd to halt its monthly gas payments. This decision followed competing invoice claims between Petronas and Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros).

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the ruling was made by a three-member appellate bench, led by Datuk Azimah Omar, Datuk Wong Kian Kheong, and Datuk Ismail Brahim. The bench court also set aside a separate injunction from the High Court that required Petronas to continue gas supply to Shell MDS and prevented the national oil company from utilising a bank guarantee.

The court then ordered Shell MDS to pay Petronas the outstanding amounts owed from August 2024 up to Oct 5 this year, with the payment due by Oct 6. Petronas had claimed that Shell MDS owed it between RM70 million and RM80 million per month since August 2024. The amount owed, including interest, may reach close to RM1 billion.

Shell MDS had withheld payments related to two invoices – one from Petronas and the other from Petros due to concerns over possible double payment while the jurisdictional issue between Petronas and Petros was being resolved. The appeals court also ordered Shell MDS to pay RM50,000 in costs to Petronas, while Petros was ordered to pay RM30,000 to the national oil company.

Previously, Shell MDS had sought an injunction – granted by High Court Judicial Commissioner (JC) Arziah Mohamed Apandi – to suspend payments to Petronas and Petros while ensuring continued gas supply. On Jan 29 this year, the High Court granted Shell MDS a temporary injunction that allowed the company to defer payments for natural gas supplies in Bintulu.