December 6, 2023          
   
ZENITH ENERGY LTD.

("Zenith" or the "Company")

ICC Arbitration for SLK against Tunisia 
 
Zenith Energy Ltd. (LSE: ZEN; OSE: ZENA; OTCQB: ZENAF), the listed international
energy production and development company, announces that its fully owned
subsidiary, Canadian North Africa Oil and Gas Limited ("CNAOG") has initiated an
ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) arbitration case seated in Paris against
the Republic of Tunisia (the "CNAOG ICC Arbitration"). 

Background

As announced by the Company on November 22, 2021, Zenith Overseas Assets
Holdings Ltd ("ZOA"), a fully owned subsidiary of Zenith, entered into a share
purchase agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the issued, allotted,
outstanding and fully paid-up share capital of CNAOG, previously named CNPC
International (Tunisia) Ltd, a then subsidiary of China National Petroleum
Corporation, one of the largest state-owned energy companies in the world (the
"Acquisition"). 

CNAOG held an undivided 22.5% interest in the North Kairouan permit and the Sidi
El Kilani Concession in Tunisia ("SLK" or the "Concession"), as well as still
owning 25% of the issued share capital of Compagnie Tuniso-Koweito-Chinoise de
Pétrole ("CTKCP"), the operating company of SLK.

For reasons unknown to the Company and devoid of any legal grounding, the
Tunisian State represented by the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Hydrocarbons
arbitrarily refused to recognise the Acquisition of CNAOG, which was performed
in accordance with all applicable laws and duly notified to the local
authorities. 

It is to be underlined that the Ministry's position is in contravention of
established precedent, including the acquisition of Ecumed Petroleum Tunisia
Ltd, which holds a 100% interest in the Robbana and El Bibane concessions by
Compagnie Du Desert Ltd ("CDD"), a fully owned subsidiary of Zenith, announced
on April 30, 2021, as well as the acquisition of  Ecumed Petroleum Zarzis Ltd
("EPZ"), which held a 45% interest in the Ezzaouia concession and still owns 50
percent ownership of MARETAP, the joint operating company for the Ezzaouia
concession, first announced on March 15, 2021. 

Claim 

The Company's is pleased to confirm that it has formalised a claim for damages
in the amount of US$85.8 million (the "Claimed Amount") in connection with the
CNAOG ICC Arbitration. 

The Claimed Amount has been assessed by a third-party expert consultant in
consideration of the following: 

o	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
o	The volume of crude oil produced from the Concession and allocated to and
received by CNAOG upon the completion of the Acquisition
o	Unpaid invoices for oil production by ETAP, the national oil company of
Tunisia. 
o	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 K.S.C.C, which relinquished its interest in the Concession
before its initial expiry. 
 


The Company wishes to clarify that the CNAOG ICC Arbitration is being performed
in parallel to the ICC Arbitration against ETAP, announced to the market on
November 1, 2023, for a total amount of US$6.5 million, and to the arbitration
pending before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in
Washington DC ("ICSID Arbitration") , for a total cumulative claimed amount of
at least US$48 million, announced to the market on June 7, 2023, following
various breaches of bilateral trade agreements committed by the Republic of
Tunisia.  



Andrea Cattaneo, Chief Executive Officer, commented:   


"It is again regrettable that we have been compelled to seek legal redress by
way of our third arbitration in connection with our Tunisian assets for the very
material commercial harm we have suffered because of the arbitrary conduct of
the Tunisian authorities.  

Zenith Energy is one of the few energy companies that invested in Tunisia in
recent years during a period when most energy companies, irrespective of size,
were actively seeking to leave the country. 

The Board is fully confident in the merits of the CNAOG ICC Arbitration and will
take all necessary action to ensure shareholders are fully compensated for the
damage they have sustained." 



 
Notes to Editors:             
                              
Zenith Energy Ltd. is a revenue generating, independent energy company with
production, exploration and development assets in North Africa and Europe,
including electricity generation in Italy. The Company is listed on the London
Stock Exchange Main Market (LSE: ZEN), the Euronext Growth of the Oslo Stock
Exchange (OSE: ZENA) and the Venture Market of the OTCQB (OTCQB: ZENAF).
 
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 included in this announcement is defined as inside information
pursuant to MAR article 7 and is publicly disclosed in accordance with MAR
article 17 and section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. The
announcement is made by the contact person.

Click here for more information

© Oslo Bors ASA, source Oslo Stock Exchange