CANYON OFFSHORE LTD V GDF SUEZ E&P NEDERLAND BV

[2014] EWHC 3810 (Comm), Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Court, HHJ Mackie QC, 27 November 2014

Conflicts of law - Place of performance of obligations - Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, article 5(1)

The claimant, Canyon, was a Scottish company with its registered office in Aberdeen. The defendant applicant ("GDF") was a Dutch company and a large owner and operator of oil and gas fields. GDF wished to develop further those fields by the erection of additional platforms, requiring the installation of subsea pipelines, and on 4 September 2012 entered into contracts with C, another Dutch company, for the transportation and installation of these pipelines. Those contracts were subject to Dutch law and jurisdiction. C subcontracted part of the work to Canyon under an agreement dated 1 July 2013 ("the Trenching Contract"), containing provision for English law and subject to arbitration in Rotterdam. C fell behind on its payments to the subcontractors. Fearing that the project would be compromised, GDF undertook, by a letter dated 16 January 2014, to pay the subcontractors directly. The undertaking was conveyed by C to Canyon in a meeting on 17 January 2014 and Canyon’s case was that this was an offer resulting in a contract between Canyon and GDF.