Arnold & Porter Secures Complete Victory for NRCO in LNG Project Arbitration

Arnold & Porter secured a complete victory for NRCO Engineering, S.A. in an ICDR arbitration in Houston arising from a cross-border liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply venture in Eastern Europe. NRCO is owned by Ovik Mkrtchyan, an engineer and businessman from Uzbekistan who founded Gor Investment Limited, a global enterprise focused on advancing sustainable, innovative technologies. The tribunal found a Texas energy company and its president liable for breach of contract and ordered them to pay all damages, attorneys’ fees, and interest that NRCO requested.

The dispute arose from an LNG project to supply natural gas to Bulgaria. The underlying transaction involved multiple energy-infrastructure components, including potential supply strategies through Poland and Lithuania, equity participation in an energy company, project development obligations, and a performance security bond connected to a European gas pipeline. Following a five-day final hearing, the tribunal awarded NRCO the complete relief it sought. The tribunal also rejected the Respondents’ equitable and other defenses, finding that the president of the Texas energy company had spread false and disparaging information about Mr. Mkrtchyan that caused harm to him and his family in Uzbekistan.

The arbitration team was led by litigation partner Ryan Hartman, who is co-chair of the firm’s Energy and Infrastructure group, with Sally Pei and Volodymyr Ponomarov, in close collaboration with John Bellinger, who leads the firm’s Global Law and Public Policy practice. The victory adds to Arnold & Porter’s deep experience representing clients in complex energy, infrastructure, and cross-border disputes.