Summary

This case concerns an application for a final anti-suit injunction on the basis of an agreement to arbitrate. It is being heard at the same time as an application to set aside the interim anti-suit injunction which was granted ex parte. Both applications concern, in particular, the significance of delay in seeking anti-suit relief.

The Claimants are Lenders. The First Claimant is a multilateral development finance institution, headquartered in Nigeria, and the Sixth Claimant is a Shell entity registered under Bahamian law. The remaining Claimants are Nigerian banks.

By two Facility Agreements dated 2 September 2014, the Defendant borrowed some US$2 billion from the Lenders in order to purchase an interest in Nigerian oil fields and facilities. About 75% of that funding came from the First to Fifth Claimants and Seventh to Ninth Claimants ("the Onshore Lenders") via a Nigerian-law governed facility agreement ("the Onshore Facility Agreement"). The rest came from the Sixth Claimant in the form of vendor financing via an English-law governed agreement ("the Offshore Facility Agreement").

Arbitration