Udenna Corp. said Tuesday its acquisition of the interest of Chevron Malampaya LLC and Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. in the Malampaya natural gas project is above board.
Udenna spokesperon Raymond Zorrilla said there is no law requiring the approval of transfer of shares of companies that have interest in Malampaya. “Therefore, no party has the legal ability to rescind the Chevron and Shell transactions,” Zorrilla said.
He said Udenna, as a key investor in UC Malampaya Philippines Pte. Ltd., would stand by the legal position.
Several groups have called for a government takeover of the Malampaya gas project amid questions regarding the technical, financial and legal capability of the group of businessman Dennis Uy, founder of Udenna Corp.
“The transfers of Chevron and Shell shares underwent strict bidding processes and due diligence by both multinational oil & gas players,” Zorrilla said.
He said the share sales were above board and legal and passed thorough scrutiny by regulators, international lenders and the private multinationals involved.