Ascent Resources gets favourable ruling in Slovenia arbitration

(Sharecast News) - Ascent Resources announced on Thursday that it has secured a favourable ruling in its domestic arbitration proceedings against its former Slovenian joint venture partner Geoenergo, with the tribunal awarding its subsidiary, Ascent Slovenia (ASL), �4.99m plus interest in outstanding revenues.

The AIM-traded firm said the tribunal confirmed ASL's interpretation of the restated joint operating agreement (RJOA) as correct, in a decision that bolstered the company's position in its long-running dispute.

It said the award related to revenue from production above the baseline production profile, and was in addition to �2.89m already accepted by Geoenergo's administrator and approved by the insolvency court.

However, Ascent cautioned that the recovery of the full amount remained dependent on the outcome of Geoenergo's ongoing administration process.

The tribunal also awarded ASL �79,235 in pre-insolvency legal costs, which were now expected to be approved as creditor claims, and a further �56,825 payable in cash within 15 days.

Separately, ASL had been invited to enter mediation with Geoenergo's administrator, who was attempting to challenge the tribunal's jurisdiction.

Ascent said it considered the administrator's position to be "manifestly wrong", a view that it said was supported by the tribunal, which included a former Slovenian Supreme Court and Constitutional Court judge.

Nonetheless, the company expressed hope that a resolution could be reached through mediation.

Ascent said it was also continuing to pursue related disputes with joint venture service provider Petrol Geo.

A decision on the service agreement dispute was expected in the coming weeks, while a final mediation process concerning the build-operate-transfer framework agreement would follow shortly thereafter.

At 0939 BST, shares in Ascent Resources were up 6.59% at 0.45p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.