REG - Zenith Energy Ltd - ICSID Arbitration against the Republic of Tunisia

Zenith EnergyAnnouncement

07/06/2023 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20230607:nRSG8774Ba&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 8774B  Zenith Energy Ltd  07 June 2023

June 7, 2023

ZENITH ENERGY LTD.

("Zenith" or the "Company")

ICSID Arbitration against the Republic of Tunisia

Zenith Energy Ltd. (LSE: ZEN; OSE: ZENA), the international energy
production and development company, announces the formal submission of
various legal proceedings against the Republic of Tunisia, with a total
cumulative claimed amount of at least US$48 million.

 

Zenith's fully owned subsidiaries (together, the "Investors") have submitted a
request for arbitration against the Republic of Tunisia before the
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington DC
("ICSID") - (the "Arbitration").

 

Background to the Arbitration

 

The request for Arbitration before the ICSID was submitted in accordance with
article 8 of the Agreement signed between the government of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the government of the Tunisian
Republic in 1989 for the Promotion and Protection of Investments.

 

The Arbitration has been launched following a series of actions undertaken by
the Tunisian government to the material detriment of the commercial interests
of the Investors in the Republic of Tunisia, including, inter alia,
unreasonable and arbitrary obstructions in relation to the development of the
Sidi El Kilani and Ezzaouia concessions.

 

More specifically, these include actions in contravention to, inter alia, the
terms of the Sidi El Kilani and Ezzaouia licenses respectively, and
unjustified obstructions for processing the sale of produced oil.

 

Prior to initiating the Arbitration, Zenith and its subsidiaries have, in good
faith, applied their best efforts towards engaging constructively with the
relevant bodies in the Republic of Tunisia to address these matters. However,
in view of the unsuccessful nature of these efforts to date, the Investors
have been compelled, to safeguard their commercial interests and legal rights,
to launch the Arbitration.

 

The Investors have engaged Gide Loyrette Nouel, a legal firm with a
specialisation in high-level dispute resolution, as legal counsel in
connection with the Arbitration.

 

The Investors can confirm that, in the interests of preserving the Company's
cash reserves at a time of intensive expansion and development activity, they
are in advanced negotiations with a specialist third-party litigation funder
for a 'no win-no fee' financing arrangement to support all the costs in
connection with the Arbitration.

 

The Board, based on due and careful consideration surrounding the merits of
the Arbitration and specialist legal advice received, believes there will
either be a successful outcome resulting from the Arbitration or there will be
an amicable settlement in due course.

 

 

 

Update on Tunisian production and development portfolio

 

The Company can confirm that it continues to operate its production and
development portfolio in the Republic of Tunisia, including the Robbana and El
Bibane concessions which it holds directly with a 100% interest, whilst
negotiations are ongoing with the local authorities in Tunisia with the
objective of addressing the underlying causes of the aforementioned
Arbitration.

 

The Robbana Concession is producing approximately 20-25 barrels of oil per
day, with a total accumulation of approximately 8,000 barrels of oil in stock
which is ready for sale subject to local export permissions being granted.

 

Production from the El Bibane Concession has been suspended due to necessary
maintenance activities.

 

Further, for the avoidance of doubt, the Company maintains that its
subsidiary's 50 percent ownership of MARETAP, the joint operating company for
the Ezzaouia Concession, remains unchanged.

 

In view of the sensitive nature of the ongoing proceedings and discussions,
the Company will not be providing further comment until there are material
updates.

 

 

Further Information:

 Zenith Energy Ltd

Andrea Cattaneo, Chief Executive Officer     Tel: +1 (587) 315 1279

                                               E:  info@zenithenergy.ca (mailto:info@zenithenergy.ca)
 BlytheRay - Financial PR/IR                   Tel: +44 207 138 3204

 Tim Blythe, Megan Ray, Matt Bowld             E:  zenith@blytheray.com (mailto:zenith@blytheray.com)

 Allenby Capital Limited - Financial Adviser   Tel: + 44 (0) 203 328 5656

 Nick Harriss

 Daniel Dearden-Williams
 Miriad Limited - Media Enquiries              Tel: +44 7867527659

 Zak Mir                                       E: zak@zakmir.com (mailto:zak@zakmir.com)

 

Notes to
Editors:

Zenith Energy Ltd. is a revenue generating, independent energy company with
production, exploration and development assets in Africa, the Middle East and
Europe, including electricity generation in Italy. The Company is listed on
the London Stock Exchange Main Market (LSE: ZEN) and the Euronext Growth of
the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE: ZENA).

Zenith's strategic focus is on pursuing development opportunities through the
development of proven revenue generating energy production assets, as well as
low-risk exploration activities in assets with existing production.

For more information, please visit:  www.zenithenergy.ca
(http://www.zenithenergy.ca)

Twitter: @zenithenergyltd

LinkedIn:  https://bit.ly/3A5PRJb (https://bit.ly/3A5PRJb)

 

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations
(EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of
the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"). Upon the publication of
this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service ("RIS"), this inside
information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

 

 

 

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  MSCFZGGVGNFGFZG