REG - Zenith Energy Ltd - Update on ICC-2 Annulment Application

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RNS Number : 1498W  Zenith Energy Ltd  11 March 2026

March 11, 2026

 

ZENITH ENERGY LTD.

("Zenith" or the "Company")

Update on ICC-2 Annulment Application

Zenith Energy Ltd. ("Zenith" or the "Company") (LSE: ZEN; OSE: ZENA; XSAT:
ZENA SDR), the international energy production and development company, is
pleased to provide an update regarding the application for annulment (the
"Annulment Application") of the ICC-2 Arbitration (the "ICC-2 Arbitration")
before the Swiss Federal Supreme Court in Lausanne, Switzerland (the "Swiss
Court") submitted by its wholly owned subsidiary, Canadian North Africa Oil
and Gas Limited ("CNAOG").

 

The Annulment application was submitted by CNAOG in September 2025 and
procedurally accepted by the Swiss Court in October 2025.

 

The Company confirms that the Republic of Tunisia failed to submit its
response to the Annulment Application within the required procedural timeframe
set out by the Swiss Court and has instead sent a submission to the Swiss
Court contesting its jurisdiction. Further, the Republic of Tunisia has
advanced a legally unfounded and unreasonable argument that the Annulment
Application should be adjudicated by a Court of Appeal seated within the
Republic of Tunisia.

 

The Company will provide an update once further information becomes available,
in full compliance with procedural guidelines.

 

Background

CNAOG initiated the ICC-2 Arbitration against the Republic of Tunisia, as
announced in December 2023, following a series of arbitrary actions and
obstructions undertaken by the Republic of Tunisia, leading to the arbitrary
termination of the SLK concession.

 

Inter alia, these included:

·      CNAOG's lost production revenue and associated profitability,
during a period of high energy prices, from the SLK Concession until its
initial expiry in December 2022.

·      The volume of crude oil produced from the SLK Concession and
allocated to and received by CNAOG upon the completion of the acquisition.

·      The value of the 45% interest in the renewal of the SLK
Concession, representing a breach of CNAOG's right to renew its previously
existing 22.5% interest in SLK, as well as the 22.5% interest held by Kuwait
Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company, which relinquished its interest in the
SLK Concession before its initial expiry.

·      CNAOG filed claims in the amount of approximately US$130 million
following calculations made by third-party experts.

Application for Annulment

Under the Swiss procedural rules, the Company applied for annulment of an
arbitral award for, inter alia, cases of serious procedural irregularities.

As previously disclosed on September 15, 2025, following the ICC-2 Award, the
Company became aware of new evidence indicating previously undisclosed
connections between two members of the ICC-2 Arbitral Tribunal, including its
Chair, Ms. Cecilia Carrara, and the Republic of Tunisia.

These undisclosed connections and the procedural irregularities, both
during the proceedings and reflected within the ICC-2 Award, constitute
the core foundation for the Annulment Application.

The Company engaged Charles Russell Speechlys Geneva, led by Pierre
Bydzovsky, to prepare and file the Annulment Application.

The Swiss Court usually renders decisions on annulment applications within 6
to 9 months from submission.

Andrea Cattaneo, Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Energy, commented:

"Despite the historically low success rate of annulment applications, we
believe that the extent to which the ICC-2 Arbitration was flawed and
procedurally irregular, culminating in an Arbitral Tribunal issuing a 70-page
arbitral award containing only six pages of reasoning and dismissing claims
totalling US$130 million after 32 months of proceedings, is both deeply
surprising and disappointing. This occurred after the ICC-2 Arbitral Tribunal
refused to apply the applicable legal rules and contradicted the prior
arbitral award in ICC-1.

These matters are further compounded by evidence collected and presented in
the Annulment Application, which casts significant doubt on the impartiality
of two members of the ICC-2 Arbitral Tribunal, including its Chair, Ms Cecilia
Carrara. The Chair of the ICC-2 Arbitral Tribunal and another member of the
ICC-2 Arbitral Tribunal failed to disclose connections giving rise to a
serious conflict of interest with the Republic of Tunisia.

Moreover, the fact that the Republic of Tunisia has failed to submit its
response within the required timeframe and has instead challenged the
authority of the Swiss Court, asserting that the Annulment Application should
be heard in Tunisia, represents yet another example of Tunisia's consistent
efforts to escape justice, as evidenced, amongst other things, by its failure
to date to pay any procedural expenses associated with the arbitrations, all
of which have been borne by Zenith subsidiaries, including CNAOG. This is
emblematic of an ongoing pattern of behaviour characterised by dilatory
tactics, non-payment, and attempts to inflict as much financial damage as
possible on Zenith's subsidiaries to hinder their ability to pursue their
claims.

Our legal team has worked with dedication and perseverance to present the
merits of the ICC-2 Annulment Application clearly and comprehensively. We look
ahead with confidence that the Swiss Court will give due consideration to
CNAOG's submissions."

 

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

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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