ORDER

1. This petition has been filed under Section 11 of Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (hereinafter referred “the said Act”) by the petitioner praying for appointment of the arbitral tribunal to adjudicate the claims and disputes between the petitioner and the respondent.

2. The petitioner is a company incorporated and existing under the laws of Malaysia and is engaged in the business of fabrication of all types of offshore and onshore structures and complexes. The respondent on the other hand is the company incorporated under the (Indian) Companies Act, 1956 and is inter alia engaged in the business of providing engineering and related technical services for petroleum refineries and other industrial projects.

3. The necessary facts of the case are that Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) invited a tender vide notification dated November 17, 2003 for carrying work of Survey, Design, Engineering, Procurement, Fabrication, Anticorrosion and Weight coating, Laying of submarine pipeline, Installation of SPM, Load out, Tie-down/Sea-fastening and various other jobs in respect of Mumbai High South Field offshore site.

4. In connection with the said tender issued by ONGC, respondent and petitioner entered into a Business Agreement on 22/01/2004 by which it was agreed that the respondent shall quote as a bidder against the said Tender with the petitioner as a sub-contractor foridentified scope of work. The tender was awarded by ONGC to the respondent by notice dated 10/03/2004 for the said fabrication and installation of D-1 Well-Cum-Water Injection Platform at Mumbai High South field Off-shore site on a turnkey basis for a sum of US $ 62,3000,000/- and thereafter an agreement between the respondent and ONGC was entered into. Then, the respondent entered into a subcontract with the petitioner which was signed on 29th of October 2004 and for Fabrication, Load Out and Transportation of Jacket, Piles, Conductors and Deck for D-1 Well-Cum-Water Injection Platform Project of ONGC at Bombay High South field off-shore site for a lump sum subcontract price of US $ 20,162,460/-. In terms of the said subcontract the petitioner carried out its scope of work in terms of its contractual obligations. As it did not receive the full payment from the respondent disputes and differences between them cropped up. These disputes between the parties remained unresolved despite some joint negotiations between them.

5. The petitioner by its Advocate’s notice on 19/02/2008 invoked the arbitration clause and referred all disputes and differences between them and respondent to arbitration including its claim of US $ 14,244,812.02 and claim for loss and damage on account of financing charges and foreign exchange and such other damages. In the said letter the petitioner also suggested the names of a few arbitrators. The respondent by its letter dated 26/02/2008 did not accept the stand of the petitioner and stated that petitioner’s stand to proceed with arbitration is premature and the respondent requested the petitioner to withdraw the Notice Invoking Arbitration and come out with a viable proposal to create a joint settlement mechanism to settle the dispute amicably.

6. However, the learned counsel for the petitioner tried to show before this Court that several meetings were held between the parties for settling the dispute amicably but the said efforts ultimately did not succeed. However before this Court the learned counsel for the respondent fairly accepted the position but disputes between the parties virtually cannot be resolved amicably anymore and the matter should be resolved through arbitration.

7. Learned counsel for the respondent submitted that he does not dispute that there are arbitrable disputes between the parties. Nor does he dispute that the petitioner has invoked the arbitration clause between the parties. The only point on which the case is argued is that in this case the arbitration panel must consist of three arbitrator