ONGC Petro additions Limited v Daelim Industrial Company Limited

Q: Which legislation does [2023] SGHC 197 consider?

The judgment refers to Arbitration Act (Cap 10) and International Arbitration Act (Cap 143A). The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

[2023] SGHC 197 High Court (General Division) 24 July 2023 HC/OA 91/2022 80 min read

8 cases cited Cited by 1 case

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	24 July 2023
Judge	S Mohan
Charges / claim	Arbitration
Counsel	Drew & Napier LLC, WongPartnership LLP, Hudson Wong, Jimmy Yim Wing Kuen, Koh Swee Yen, Leo Zhen Wei Lionel, Loo Chuan Shen Don, Mahesh Rai s/o Vedprakash Rai, Md Noor E Adnaan, Samuel Soo Kuok Heng, T Abirami, Yap Keong Wee Brandon

Source: [2023] SGHC 197, High Court (General Division), decided 24 July 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Arbitration — Award — Recourse against award — Setting aside — Breach of natural justice — Whether Quantum Award was manifestly incoherent Arbitration — Award — Recourse against award — Setting aside — Whether Tribunal was functus officio — Whether Tribunal exceeded its jurisdiction by reversing findings made in Liability Award

Practice Areas

Arbitration

Judges (1)

S Mohan Delivered

Counsel (12)

Drew & Napier LLC Firm WongPartnership LLP Firm Hudson Wong Counsel Claimant Jimmy Yim Wing Kuen Counsel Defendant Koh Swee Yen Counsel Claimant Leo Zhen Wei Lionel Counsel Claimant Loo Chuan Shen Don Counsel Defendant Mahesh Rai s/o Vedprakash Rai Counsel Defendant Md Noor E Adnaan Counsel Claimant Samuel Soo Kuok Heng Counsel Defendant T Abirami Counsel Claimant Yap Keong Wee Brandon Counsel Defendant

Parties (2)

DL E&C Co, Ltd (formerly known as Daelim Industrial Co Ltd) Defendant ONGC Petro additions Ltd Claimant

Case Significance

ONGC Petro additions Ltd v DL E&C Co, Ltd (formerly known as Daelim Industrial Co Ltd) [2023] SGHC 197 is a reserved judgment of S Mohan J in the General Division of the High Court, delivered on 24 July 2023 in Originating Application No 91 of 2022. The application arose from an arbitration bifurcated into liability and quantum phases, in which the claimant ONGC Petro additions Limited ("OPAL"), an Indian joint venture petrochemical company, succeeded on liability but was awarded only nominal damages after the tribunal found it had failed to prove its pleaded loss at the quantum stage. OPAL applied to set aside the quantum award on the grounds that the tribunal exceeded its jurisdiction and breached natural justice by reversing findings allegedly made in the Liability Award; S Mohan J dismissed the application, with the catchwords addressing functus officio and whether the Quantum Award was manifestly incoherent under the Arbitration Act and International Arbitration Act.

[2023] SGHC 197 explained

ONGC Petro additions Limited v Daelim Industrial Company Limited ([2023] SGHC 197) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 24 July 2023. It is categorised under Arbitration. Within this corpus it has since been cited by 1 other reported Singapore judgment, a measure of how often later decisions have referred to it. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.

What is [2023] SGHC 197 about?

ONGC Petro additions Limited v Daelim Industrial Company Limited ([2023] SGHC 197) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2023. Its published catchwords are “Arbitration — Award — Recourse against award — Setting aside — Breach of natural justice — Whether Quantum Award was manifestly incoherent” and “Arbitration — Award — Recourse against award — Setting aside — Whether Tribunal was functus officio — Whether Tribunal exceeded its jurisdiction by reversing findings made in Liability Award”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

Which legislation does [2023] SGHC 197 consider?

The judgment refers to Arbitration Act (Cap 10) and International Arbitration Act (Cap 143A). The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

What earlier Singapore cases does [2023] SGHC 197 cite?

Among the in-corpus authorities it refers to are [2023] SGHC(I) 11. The complete list of cases cited, and of later cases that cite this decision, is shown on this page.

How influential is [2023] SGHC 197?

Within this corpus, [2023] SGHC 197 has been cited by 1 later reported Singapore judgment. That count reflects references from other decisions held in this corpus only and is a conservative lower bound on how often the case has actually been cited.

Summary

ONGC Petro additions Limited (OPAL) applied to set aside a bifurcated arbitration's quantum award against DL E&C Co (formerly Daelim Industrial), arising from a contract to build a High-Density Polyethylene plant in Gujarat, India. Though OPAL succeeded on liability, the tribunal awarded only nominal damages after finding it failed to prove its pleaded loss. OPAL argued the tribunal exceeded its jurisdiction and breached natural justice by reversing liability findings; the court dismissed the application.

What was ONGC Petro additions Ltd v Daelim [2023] SGHC 197 about?

It was an application before S Mohan J, decided on 24 July 2023, by ONGC Petro additions Limited (OPAL) to set aside a bifurcated arbitration's quantum award that granted only nominal damages, alleging the tribunal exceeded its jurisdiction and breached natural justice.

What did the court decide in [2023] SGHC 197?

S Mohan J dismissed OPAL's application to set aside the quantum award, which had followed a bifurcated arbitration where OPAL won on liability but received only nominal damages, addressing functus officio and whether the award was manifestly incoherent.