SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT January 6, 2006
January
6, 2006
Set
forth
below are the terms under which Fortune Oil & Gas, Inc. (“FOGI”), Fortune
Ship Management, Ltd. and Indo Pacific Resources (JAVA) Ltd. (“IPR”)
(collectively, “Fortune”), National Oil Well Maintenance Company (“NOWMCO”) and
Enterprise Trading Limited (“Enterprise”) agree to settle. All dollar amounts
set forth herein are in US dollars, unless otherwise indicated.
(1) Within
five (5) business days after any settlement is placed on the record in the
SDNY,
FOGI and IPR will issue to Enterprise a promissory note in the principal amount
of $2.86 million (the “Note”), payable as set forth below.
(2) Interest
on the Note shall accrue at a rate of 6 month LIBOR +1% per annum commencing
on
the date of issuance of the Note and accruing until the date of full repayment
of all principal and interest.
(3) Repayment
of principal, together with interest thereon would be made as
follows:
a.
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During
the first year after issuance of the Note: no interest or principal
payments.
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b.
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Beginning
on the first anniversary of issuance of the Note and continuing thereafter
during the second and third years after issuance of the Note: interest
will only be paid on a quarterly basis in
arrears.
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c.
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On
the second anniversary of issuance of the Note: 50% of the principal
and
unpaid and accrued interest will be due and
payable.
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d.
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On
the third anniversary of issuance of the Note: the balance of principal
and unpaid and accrued interest will be due and payable.
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e.
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If
any payment required under (b), (c) or (d) above is not made when
due,
after notice by facsimile to the attention of Xxxxx Xxxx at (000)
000-0000
and a 15 day cure period, then 50% of all gross lifting proceeds
allocated
to Fortune (or their affiliates) under that certain Production Sharing
Contract, dated February 12, 1981, as amended (the “PSC interest”) shall
automatically be paid directly to Enterprise until all amounts due
and
owing under the Note are paid in
full.
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f.
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Notwithstanding
anything herein contained to the contrary, if any payment required
hereunder is not made when due (subject to (e) above), after notice
by
facsimile to the attention of Xxxxx Xxxx at (000) 000-0000 and a
15 day
cure period, there shall be a default under the Note and all amounts
shall
become immediately due under the Note, upon demand by Enterprise,
which
default will not be excused based on a failure by Enterprise to
immediately issue such a demand or by a delay by Enterprise in making
such
a demand, or by the acceptance on the part of Enterprise of a partial
payment made after the occurrence of a
default.
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g.
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Fortune
shall have the right to make prepayments of principal and/or interest
under the Note in whole or in part; provided that any partial payment
shall be made in increments of not less than
$250,000.
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h.
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Fortune
will have no right of offset or set off, counterclaim or recoupment
against any amount owned or accrued by under the Note, except for
material
breach of this Settlement Agreement by
Enterprise.
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(4) Fortune
will provide the following payments security:
(a)
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Fortune
shall be restricted from transferring the PSC interest, other than
under
the dilution clause in its agreement with
CRC;
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(b)
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Within
30 days of this settlement being placed on the record in the SDNY,
or such
additional time as reasonable required by the parties, Fortune shall
cause
100% of issued and outstanding capital stock of IPR (the “Stock”) and any
income due to Fortune or its affiliates under the PSC Interest (the
“Income”) to be transferred to a Barbados trust company (the “Trust
Company”), the identity of which shall be agreed upon by the parties
acting reasonably. Fortune shall not (1) change, or otherwise permit
to be
changed, the ownership of IPR; or (ii) cancel, encumber or otherwise
transfer the certificate representing the Stock, for as long as any
amount
remains unpaid under the Note. The parties will cause an agreement
to be
reached with the Trust Company subject to commercially reasonable
and
customary terms, but which shall include the following irrevocable
directions:
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(i) Trust
Company will be instructed to pay 100% of the Income to IPR unless and until
it
receives notice of an uncured default under the payment terms of the Note
described in paragraphs 3 (b), (c) or (d) above;
(ii) Upon
such
notice of default by Fortune under the terms of the Note, Trust Company shall
pay 50% of the Income to Enterprise and 50% of the Income to IPR until the
Note
is fully repaid;
(iii) In
the
event of any uncured default by Fortune other than for a payment default under
paragraphs 3(b), (c) and (d) of this Settlement Agreement, Enterprise shall
be
entitled to enforce its rights under the Note against the Stock and/or
Income;
(iv) Enterprise
will have the right to reasonably audit the books and records of Fortune (and
Fortune will not oppose an audit of the books and records of the Trust Company),
on 15 days notice relating to the Income up to four times each calendar year
after the date of this Settlement Agreement; and
(v) Upon
full
payment of all amounts due under the Note, the Stock and Income shall be
returned to FOGI or its designee; and
(c)
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Enterprise
and Fortune shall each have the right to provide notice of the
transfer
described herein of the Income to any person or entity which
has control
over the Income.
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(5) NOWMCO
is
obligated to offer and, if such offer is accepted by the party authorized to
engage such services, provide up to an aggregate amount of SEVEN MMILLION
DOLLARS ($7 Million) of the remediation services, as selected by Fortune, and
to
be performed in Indonesia, Thailand and/or any locations where NOWMCO currently
performs remediation services, at a discount of 20% off of NOWMCO’s then retail
price lists for such services (the “Discounted Remediation Services”) without
any time limitation, subject to the following:
(a)
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The
Discounted Remediation Services shall not be assignable and shall
be
performed only for Fortune; the performance of such services shall
be made
by NOWMCO or a subcontractor approved in advance by Fortune, such
approval
not to be unreasonably withheld, but not by any other
party;
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(b)
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The
Discounted Remediation Services shall not be redeemable for cash
or any
other asset;
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(c)
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NOWMCO
cannot be held liable for breach of this Settlement Agreement in
the event
that the party authorized to accept NOWMCO’s bid for services does not
accept such bid on any specific
project;
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(d)
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Fortune
and its affiliates will hold NOWMCO harmless from any claims arising
out
of the Discounted Remediation Services in accordance with the terms
for
indemnification under each applicable definitive remediation services
agreement and, regardless of such terms, such indemnification shall
apply
in all cases other than those where NOWMCO is found to have acted
in a
grossly negligent manner or engaged in willful
misconduct;
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(e)
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In
connection with Fortune exercising its right to request Discounted
Remediation Services, Fortune and NOWMCO will act in good faith
to enter
into a definitive remediation services agreement with respect to
each such
requested Discount Remediation Services (where such services have
been
accepted) on terms which are customary in the industry and this
obligation
is intended by the parties to be enforceable under law. However,
no
obligation for any specific project will be incurred by NOWMCO,
nor will
NOWMCO be required to incur any costs or expenses, until a definitive
remediation agreement is entered into;
and
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(f)
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Enterprise
has no obligation, express or implied, whatsoever with respect to
the
Discounted Remediation Services.
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(6) The
parties agree to resolve any disputes arising in connection with this settlement
by instituting an arbitration under the then-prevailing commercial rules of
the
London Court of Arbitration which the parties agree shall be the designating
authority, utilizing a single arbitrator chosen through a “rank and strike”
method within 14 days of the matter being submitted to the designating
authority. Any arbitration brought shall be determined without live testimony
on
the simultaneous submission of briefs and documentary evidence within 14 days
of
the designation of an arbitrator and any determination shall binding on the
parties without the right of appeal. In the event that any party requires
judicial intervention on any issue relating to such arbitration, including
with
respect to request for injunctive relief, the parties agree to non-exclusive
jurisdiction and venue of such judicial intervention in any court with subject
matter jurisdiction in New York County.
(7) The
parties shall exchange mutual general Xxxxxxxx form releases of all claims,
known or unknown, from the beginning of the world to the date of this Settlement
Agreement, between or among them, their agents, affiliates, officers, directors
and assigns, save and except for rights associated with the performance of
the
Settlement Agreement, including the Note and Discount Remediation Services.
If
placed on the record at SDNY, formal exchange of these releases shall not be
required and releases in accordance with this paragraph will be effective as
of
the moment this Settlement Agreement is read or incorporated into the
record.
(8) The
terms
of this Settlement Agreement do not constitute an admission of any facts,
claims, rights or defenses in dispute in the litigation. The Settlement
Agreement shall be governed by New York law, without regard to principles of
conflicts of law.
(9) Upon
execution and delivery, or the placing on the record in the SDNY of the
Settlement Agreement, the case pending in the SDNY will be dismissed with
prejudice, with respect to all parties and all claims, including those as to
which summary judgment has been granted for plaintiffs. The parties shall take
all steps as may be necessary to effectuate such dismissal. The effectiveness
of
the Settlement Agreement, and the performance under the Note and the Discounted
Remediation Services, would be conditioned upon the Court’s dismissal of the
case as set forth above.
(10) Enterprise
represents that it (and its affiliates and principals) are no longer doing
business with NOWMCO (and its affiliates), and that NOWMCO is receiving no
portion of the payments under the Note.
(11) The
attorneys for the parties represent that they have authority from their
respective clients to enter into this Settlement Agreement as set forth
herein.
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