S.C. Gupte, J.

1. Heard learned Counsel for the parties.

2. This arbitration petition challenges an award passed by a sole arbitrator in a reference arising out of a sub-contract agreement between the Respondent-employer and the Petitioner-contractor. The facts of the case may be briefly noted as follows:-

3. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) had undertaken the work of construction of Motor Spirit Quality Up-gradation Unit (MSQU) at its Gujarat Refinery. The work involved various items, including civil structure and underground piping work. This particular work was awarded by IOCL to the Respondent-Indian Oil Tanking Ltd. (IOT), which was a joint venture between IOCL and IOT Infrastructure and Energy Services Ltd. IOT floated tenders for offering this work on sub-contract basis. The Petitioner-Khurana Constructions (Khurana) submitted its offer to IOT. IOT accepted the offer and issued a Letter Of Intent (LOI) to Khurana for carrying out civil and underground piping work. A formal agreement dated 28 February 2005 was executed between IOT and Khurana. The parties separately agreed to what were known as special conditions of work relating to the sub-contract. The LOI, formal