Vallianz Rejects Payment Request from Swiber

Vallianz Holdings, which provides support vessels for the oil industry, said on Wednesday it had refused a request from the judicial managers of shareholder Swiber Holdings to pay around $63.5 million in outstanding dues.

Vallianz, in a statement, said Swiber, which owns around 25 percent of Vallianz, owed it a similar amount and that should be taken into account.

Oilfield services group Swiber applied last month to place itself under judicial management, rather than liquidation, as it faced hundreds of millions of dollars in debt and a decline in orders. The company announced that as of August 25, the total sum of claims received by the Group is approximately $197 million.

It is Singapore's biggest corporate casualty of the slump in oil prices.

Vallianz said it owed Swiber about $67.3 million in trade and other payables as of June 30 and was also owed about $65.9 million in trade and other receivables by Swiber.

On August 14, Vallianz reported an operating profit of $6.0 million for the three months ended June 30 despite the challenging industry conditions. Vallianz and its joint venture partner Rawabi Holding Company intend to leverage the group’s established market reputation in the Middle East to capitalize on the continued spending on oil and gas production activities by national oil companies in this region.