Ascent Resources PLC Arbitration Initiation & Revised Damages Estimate (0569W)
15 August 2022 - 11:12PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMAST
RNS Number : 0569W
Ascent Resources PLC
15 August 2022
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of the UK version of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 which
is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018, as amended ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement
via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is
now considered to be in the public domain.
15 August 2022
Ascent Resources plc
("Ascent" or the "Company")
Arbitration Initiation and Revised Damages Estimate
Ascent Resources Plc (LON: AST), the onshore Hispanic American
and European focussed energy and natural resources company,
announces the formal submission of the request for arbitration
against the Republic of Slovenia, which includes an updated
preliminary damages assessment in excess of EUR500 million.
Ascent Resources Plc and Ascent Slovenia Ltd (together, the
"Investors") have submitted their dispute with the Republic of
Slovenia (the "Respondent" or "Slovenia") to arbitration
administered by the International Centre for Settlement of
Investment Disputes ("ICSID"). The request for arbitration follows
the Notices of Dispute filed by Ascent Resources Plc ("Ascent UK")
and Ascent Slovenia Ltd ("Ascent Malta") on 23 July 2020 and 5 May
2022 respectively in which Slovenia was formally notified of the
existence of a dispute under the Energy Charter Treaty ("ECT") and
the UK-Slovenia bilateral investment treaty ("BIT"). The Request
for Arbitration ("Request") is submitted pursuant to Article 26 of
the ECT and Article 8 of the 1996 Agreement between the Government
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the
Government of the Republic of Slovenia for the Promotion and
Protection of Investments.
Ascent UK and Ascent Malta bring this claim in relation to
Slovenia's measures that have destroyed the value of Ascent's
investments in the Slovenian energy sector, and which have de facto
deprived Ascent of its right to produce gas in Slovenia. Ascent's
rights have been unlawfully expropriated by Slovenia, in breach of
the country's obligations under international law and both the ECT
and the BIT. The Investors have therefore sustained losses for
which they are seeking compensation. According to the Investors'
preliminary estimates, the losses sustained are in excess of EUR500
million. It should be cautioned that in the event the Company is
successful in its claim any amount actually received by the Company
may be significantly lower.
The Investors are represented by ENYO LAW in this legal matter,
as announced on 30 May 2022.
The claim's background
The claim is based on what the Board believe to be a populist
campaign carried out by Slovenia against the Investors and their
Investment, which has prevented the development of the Petišovci
oil and gas field.
In particular, Slovenia has prevented the restimulation of two
wells (PG-10 and PG-11a, the "Wells") in 2017, which was necessary
to maintain the levels of gas produced from the tight rock
reservoir (as has been done multiple times over the last fifty
years). This frustration to the ability to develop the field was
achieved via a decision of its regulator, the Slovenian Environment
Agency ("ARSO"), which determined that an Environmental Impact
Assessment ("EIA") would be required to be approved in order to
conduct the low-volume hydraulic stimulation, even though such an
EIA was not required and never had been previously under Slovenian
law, and ARSO's conclusion was contrary to the conclusion of
Slovenia's own expert bodies. This decision significantly slowed
down the development of the field by the Investors. Pending such
low-volume hydraulic stimulation, the amount of gas produced by the
field was very significantly reduced, resulting in a significant
loss of the Investors' revenues.
At the same time, the Minister of the Environment and Spatial
Planning of Slovenia repeatedly made public statements portraying
the Investors, as well as the Petišovci project, in a negative
light, and the Company believes that leaks were made by ARSO to the
press. This further demonstrates that ARSO was biased against the
Investors and that the ARSO's decision was politically
motivated.
Slovenia's campaign against the Investors culminated in a
complete ban on low-volume hydraulic stimulation, which came in
effect on 5 May 2022. The Board believes that statements made
during the parliamentary debate on the Ban leave no doubt that the
Investors were being specifically targeted by it.
Andrew Dennan, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"We have, today, formally initiated arbitration proceedings
against the Republic of Slovenia, following the closing of our "no
win - no fee" style funding arrangement in May. The formal request
for arbitration is a detailed thirty two page document, plus
supporting materials, setting out our case and includes an initial
estimate of damages in excess of EUR500 million. The Company
remains amenable to discussing settlement with the Republic of
Slovenia following its review of the matter or otherwise pursing
our damages claim through to a binding result for the Company."
Enquiries:
Ascent Resources plc Via Vigo Communications
Andrew Dennan
WH Ireland, Nominated Adviser & Broker
James Joyce / Sarah Mather 0207 220 1666
Novum Securities, Joint Broker
Jon Belliss 0207 399 9400
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 or visit 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.
END
MSCEAFPSFSLAEFA
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 15, 2022 09:12 ET (13:12 GMT)
Ascent Resources (LSE:AST)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Ascent Resources (LSE:AST)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024