REG - Zenith Energy Ltd - Unauthorised sale of Tunisian Crude Oil

Zenith EnergyAnnouncement

27/11/2025 07:45

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RNS Number : 2587J  Zenith Energy Ltd  27 November 2025

November 27, 2025

 

ZENITH ENERGY LTD.

("Zenith" or the "Company")

Unauthorised sale of Tunisian Crude Oil

Zenith Energy Ltd. ("Zenith" or the "Company") (LSE: ZEN; OSE: ZENA; XSAT:
ZENA SDR), the listed international energy production and development company,
provides an update regarding its Tunisian portfolio comprised of the oil
production concessions of Robbana and El Bibane (the "Concessions") both held
with a 100% interest by the Company's fully owned subsidiary,  Ecumed
Petroleum Tunisia Ltd ("EPT").

Update on Robbana and El Bibane

Since 2022, the Tunisian authorities have repeatedly obstructed and delayed
the sale of oil from the Concessions, impeding the continuation of production
through the deliberate obstruction of oil sales, preventing EPT from
generating revenue and operating as a functioning business.

As a result, EPT has been required to fund all salaries, environmental
compliance, and technical upkeep of the assets, incurring total costs of
approximately US$2 million to date.

Oil Production and Storage

Total oil production since 2022 amounts to 11,670 barrels of oil, as follows:

·      2022: 5,791 barrels

·      2023: 4,408 barrels

·      2024: 1,471 barrels

Production would have been materially higher, and would have not progressively
declined, had EPT been permitted to sell its oil and receive payment
regularly.

Approximately 8,000 barrels are currently stored at Robbana, representing
full storage capacity.

A further 3,987 barrels were transferred to storage at MARETAP after EPT
was forcibly ordered by the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy to empty
its tanks at the El Bibane concession in January 2024 for alleged safety
reasons. EPT was denied the possibility to sell its oil and was instead
ordered to move its stock of crude oil to MARETAP.

The emptying of the storage tanks was completed on April 20, 2024. This
occurred despite a safety inspection conducted on April 1, 2024, which
confirmed that the entire El Bibane oil storage infrastructure presented no
environmental or safety risks.

Update Regarding MARETAP

The Company holds a 50% interest in MARETAP, the joint venture operating
company of the now arbitrarily terminated Ezzaouia concession, through its
subsidiary Ecumed Petroleum Zarzis Ltd. ("EPZ"), co-owned alongside
Entreprise Tunisienne d'Activités Pétrolières ("ETAP"), the national oil
company of Tunisia.

MARETAP's management continues to breach fundamental corporate governance
obligations by denying EPZ access to financial, operational, and corporate
information to which it is legally entitled as a 50% shareholder. This
ongoing refusal represents a clear and serious violation of EPZ's shareholder
rights.

Unauthorised Sale of 3,987 Barrels of EPT Oil

The Company has been informed that ETAP has sold the 3,987 barrels of oil
produced by EPT and transferred to MARETAP, without any authorisation or
notification to EPT. ETAP has further indicated that no proceeds from this
sale will be paid to EPT.

This sale constitutes a further confiscation and expropriation suffered by
subsidiaries of Zenith committed by the Tunisian authorities.

This new act of confiscation is particularly serious and evidently
premeditated, having been facilitated by the order imposed on EPT last year by
the Tunisian authorities to empty its storage tanks without any valid
justification.

EPT, together with all wholly owned subsidiaries of Zenith, is taking
immediate steps to assert its rights to ensure that this latest unlawful
action does not go unchallenged.

EPT, its affiliated companies, and the relevant shareholders will continue to
pursue all legal remedies available to them.

Andrea Cattaneo, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"It is extraordinary that the Tunisian authorities have persisted along a now
clearly established path of arbitrary conduct, unlawful expropriation, and
systematic breaches of contractual and legal obligations - all while an
international arbitration has been ongoing for almost four years. The latest
unlawful sale of our oil represents yet another evident act of unlawful
confiscation.

This behaviour continues to demonstrate the extraordinary arrogance of the
Tunisian authorities and their apparent sense of impunity. Sadly, it does not
surprise us. Over the past three years, we have witnessed a pattern of conduct
that has caused material harm not only to our subsidiary companies but also to
our Tunisian employees and the local communities, all of whom have suffered
because certain state institutions operate with no respect whatsoever for the
rule of law.

It is equally clear that the Tunisian authorities believed that by withholding
payment for our oil - while imposing on us all the costs and obligations
associated with maintaining the assets - they would weaken our financial
capacity to pursue justice through international arbitration. Their intention
was transparent: to exhaust us into abandoning our rights. However, this
strategy has failed.

Our determination to obtain justice has only strengthened, particularly
following the deeply troubling ICC-2 decision in July. These developments have
reinforced our belief that the Tunisian authorities will seek to avoid justice
by any means available - evidenced, for example, by their continued failure to
make any payment in respect of the ICC-1 decision issued in December 2024.

The way the El Bibane and Robbana concessions have been handled makes clear
that they were effectively left to us solely to impose additional financial
burdens and losses. At no point has there been any respect for the rule of
law, the sanctity of contracts, or the protection of foreign investment in any
of the actions taken by the Tunisian authorities."

Further Information:

 Zenith Energy Ltd

 Andrea Cattaneo, Chief Executive Officer

                                            Tel: +1 (587) 315 1279

                                            E: info@zenithenergy.ca

 

Notes to Editors:

Zenith Energy Ltd. is a revenue generating, independent energy company with
energy production, exploration and development assets in North Africa, the US
and Europe. The Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange Main Market
(LSE: ZEN), the Euronext Growth of the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE: ZENA) and on
the Spotlight Stock Market in Sweden (XSAT: ZENA SDR).

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

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.

 

 

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