Ascent Resources (AIM:AST) has lost its international arbitration against the Republic of Slovenia, with a unanimous tribunal rejecting every claim the AIM-listed oil and gas company brought under the Energy Charter Treaty and ordering it to cover EUR 3 million of Slovenia's legal costs.
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes tribunal issued its final and binding award on 7 July, dismissing Ascent's claims under both Article 10, covering fair and equitable treatment and national treatment, and Article 13, covering expropriation.
The case stemmed from regulatory changes that curtailed operations at the Petišovci oil and gas field in Slovenia, most significantly 2022 amendments to the Slovenian Mining Act that banned hydraulic stimulation.
The tribunal had confirmed jurisdiction over Ascent's claims, overruling all of Slovenia's objections on that point, but found the underlying claims without merit.
Ascent, which now describes itself as an onshore US-focused oil and gas company, brought the action alongside its subsidiary Ascent Slovenia Ltd.
The award is final, leaving no further avenue for appeal within the ICSID framework, and the EUR 3 million costs liability falls directly on the claimants.
