The National Iranian Oil Company said in a statement on Wednesday that a ruling issued by the UK Court of Appeal earlier this week, upholding an earlier verdict that had ordered the seizure of the NIOC House in London, was “unfair and biased”.
The NIOC said that it would use “all the existing legal and judicial capacities” to appeal the ruling, including the services of the Iranian Presidency’s Center for International Legal Affairs.
It said its building in London is considered an asset of NIOC staff and workers, adding that it would seek to overturn the ruling to protect their rights.
The statement comes two days after the UK Court of Appeal dismissed objections raised against the initial court ruling, including the fact that the NIOC House in London was a property of its pension fund. The court thereby allowed the building to be seized to satisfy a $2.4 billion arbitration award.
The arbitration case is related to Crescent Petroleum, a company based in the United Arab Emirates, which claims the Iranian company has failed to comply with the terms of a 2001 contract for the supply of natural gas from Iran’s Salman gas field.
Reports published in the Iranian media in the past few days have estimated that the NIOC House in London is worth £100 million ($125 million).
Iran’s official IRNA news agency said in a report on Monday that NIOC lawyers plan to ask the UK Supreme Court to review the building seizure case if their appeal against the latest ruling is rejected.
Press TV