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Mobil pays CPA $2.7M wharfage fee
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Posted on Oct 24 2005
Mobil Oil Marianas has paid its $2.7-million part in the $6-million wharfage fees that the Commonwealth Ports Authority had overlooked for seven years.
CPA executive director Carlos Salas said yesterday that Mobil had complied with their settlement agreement, paying the full amount within the five-day period stipulated in the deal.
The $2.7 million paid by Mobil includes $718,775.03 in retroactive charges that Mobil asserts is due Shell Marianas as a result of fuel products it brought into the Commonwealth for Shell.
It is now up to Mobil to collect the amount from Shell.
For a period of 15 days, Mobil will also be responsible for demanding payment from the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. for $3.4 million wharfage fees on fuel provided by Mobil to CUC.
If CUC does not pay within this period, the right to pursue the amount will be assigned to CPA.
The utility has already stated that it could not afford to pay the wharfage at this time. CUC has also expressed intent to question Mobil’s assertion that retroactive charges were collectible from CUC under its previous and current contracts with the oil firm.
On CPA’s part, Salas said the ports authority would take the matter one step at a time.
“There are certain things have to happen first before Mobil could assign the account to CPA. The 15 days is not over yet,” he said.
He maintained however that CPA would do anything to pursue payment from CUC.
CPA and Mobil entered into an agreement on Oct. 14 to settle wharfage fees for which Mobil was not billed from October 1997 through June 2004.
Mobil’s unbilled wharfage fees amounted to $6 million when CPA discovered the oversight last year. This amount includes charges from the Port of Saipan and the West Tinian Harbor, where Mobil maintains fuel facilities.
CPA charges a wharfage fee of $5.50 per revenue ton of goods passing through its ports.
