Ljubljana related
STA, 3 June 2020 - The Administrative Court has upheld the decision of the Slovenian Environment Agency (ARSO) that an environmental impact assessment is needed before any permits can be issued for hydraulic fracturing planned by British company Ascent Resources at the Petišovci gas field in the north-east of Slovenia.
The London-based oil and gas exploration company, which is operating in Slovenia with its partner Geoenergo, announced the ruling on Tuesday.
It added that it is "in the process of beginning preparations for submission of an environmental impact assessment, alongside the stimulation and field development planning which was initiated recently".
ARSO said in March last year that the plans for hydraulic fracturing required an environmental impact assessment and this was confirmed in June last year by the Environment Ministry. Geoenergo therefore turned to the Administrative Court, which has upheld the decision.
"The court decision, along with earlier action by the state, will constitute important evidence to support the claim the company intends to bring against Slovenia under the Energy Charter Treaty," Ascent Resources added on Tuesday in a reference to plans to demand EUR 50 million in damages from Slovenia for delays in the development of the gas field.
Geoenergo, which is co-owned by the Slovenian state-controlled energy companies Petrol and Nafta Lendava and has been striving for the project together with Ascent Resources since May 2017, expressed on Wednesday regret over the court's decision.
It assessed that "an environmental impact assessment is not necessary for the planned intervention, one that has already been executed in past on several occasions in line with Slovenian legislation".
Geoenergo, which spoke of a key project "for the development of north-east Slovenia that would provide greater energy independence for Slovenia", added that the ruling would have negative consequences for "what are already unreasonably protracted administrative procedure that prevent the preservation of the existing production of gas".
Meanwhile, Ascent Resources announced for its investors last week that it would hold on to plans for the re-stimulation of its producing wells in Petišovci. It expects to obtain the necessary permits by the end of the year.
Ascent Resources moreover wrote that it has "observed the recent changes introduced by the new Slovenian government and increasingly confident position on the likelihood of the project receiving the permits required for further stimulation".
All our stories on Ascent Resources and Slovenia
STA, 12 November 2019 - Several civil initiatives turned to the OECD over the plans of the British oil and gas exploration company Ascent Resources for hydraulic fracturing in eastern Slovenia. The move comes after the company announced it would demand damages from Slovenia for delays in obtaining a permit for the controversial gas extraction project.
The civil initiatives and organisations filed a complaint on Tuesday with the Slovenian and British national contact points for the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises, demanding that Ascent Resources fully adhere to the guidelines.
"Given the gravity of the potential harmful effects of hydraulic fracturing adhering to the guidelines could very well mean that Ascent Resources will have to stop these activities immediately," said Lidija Živčič of NGO Focus, one of the 17 participating organisations and initiatives.
They believe Ascent Resources has in many aspects not adhered to the guidelines on corporate social responsibility, especially when it comes to the contribution to sustainable development, as hydraulic fracturing has been found to have multiple negative effects on local environment, people's health and the climate.
According to the civil initiatives, Ascent Resources also violated those guidelines by avoiding the legal constraints and claiming that hydraulic fracturing would not affect the environment.
"Ascent Resources also violated OECD guidelines through inconsistent implementation of due diligence measures and measures to minimise risks, but also by not demanding corporate social responsibility from its affiliate and contractors in Slovenia."
The NGOs claim that this is the first case of a complaint to the national contact point of OECD in Slovenia. "We expect the OECD to recognise the gravity of the violations and demand from the company to strictly implement the guidelines even if that meant Ascent Resources has to stop its fracking activities in Slovenia," Živčič said.
Operating in a joint venture with Geoenergo, which is co-owned by the Slovenian state-controlled energy companies Petrol and Nafta Lendava, the UK company wants to extract gas on a large scale in Petišovci in east Slovenia despite much controversy and problems in obtaining environmental permits.
The company announced this summer it would demand EUR 50 million in damages from Slovenia for delays in obtaining a permit to develop the Petišovci gas field.
It also plans to lodge an investment treaty arbitration claim under the Energy Charter Treaty.
It decided for the move after the Environment Ministry upheld a decision of the Environment Agency that an environmental impact assessment and a separate environmental permit are necessary before the project could start because the location of the gas wells was close to water sources and agricultural land.
All our stories on this case are here
STA, 29 August 2019 - The London-based oil and gas exploration company Ascent Resources will demand EUR 50 million in damages from Slovenia for delays in obtaining a permit to develop the Petišovci gas field in the north-east of the country, news portal Litigation Finance Journal reports.
As the British company said in a release on Tuesday, it is preparing "legal claims for damages against the persistent delays in permitting relating to the further development of the tight gas reservoirs in the Petišovci gas field".
Ascent also insists on its appeal against the decision of the Slovenian Environment Agency (ARSO) requiring an environmental impact assessment for the re-stimulation of its producing wells.
In March, ARSO decided that an environmental impact assessment will have to be made to establish whether gas extraction with hydraulic fracturing has no damaging effects on the environment.
"This is definitely a procedure which will change the physical reality of the environment," said ARSO's decision, which was also upheld by the Environment Ministry.
Ascent is also exploring possibilities to further develop the Petišovci gas field without hydraulic stimulation.
According to its press release, it is reprocessing the Petišovci 3D seismic survey acquired in 2008-2009.
It is currently interpreting preliminary data volumes in preparation for a full evaluation of the new seismic volumes, with the final data expected by mid-September.
Its CEO John Buggenhagen said the company planned to work with its partners in Slovenia to also increase production through new conventional drilling opportunities.
Ascent and its Slovenian partner Geoenergo are moreover working on documents to secure an extension of the concession for Petišovci, which is valid until 2022.
All our stories on this issue can be found here
The UK’s Ascent Resources, often in the news in Slovenia for its long-running and so far less than successful attempts to exploit it’s Petišovci gas field with the use of hydraulic stimulation, has announced a series of cost-cutting measures and managerial changes. As reported by Morning Star, the moves are an attempt to cut costs by 50%, and are needed because of the delays to the Slovenian project. As the website notes:
In its Slovenian operations, Ascent said it will cut the number of its employees and halt "all non-essential expenditure", including its May order of compression equipment for the Pg-10 and Pg-11A wells.
The company is also changing its CEO, with Chief Operating Officer John Buggenhagen replacing Colin Hutchinson, who will stay with company on a part-time, interim basis as a finance director.
Also leaving the company's board is Cameron Davies, retiring as chair having been a company director since 2010.
The new CEO, a geophysicist who has been working in various capacities at Ascent since January of this year, said: “we continue to pursue an appeal against the Environment Ministry in Slovenia, in conjunction with our joint venture partner at Petišovci, and we are prepared to initiate legal action against the Republic of Slovenia, who we believe is in breach of European Union law.”
Shares in the company were down 12% at 0.26 pence each in London at the close of trading, Monday.
The full report can be seen here, while all our reporting on Ascent Resources is here.
STA, 17 July 2019 - Ascent Resources, the UK developer of the Petišovci gas field in eastern Slovenia, has reportedly launched administrative dispute proceedings in Slovenia after it was ordered to get a separate permit for hydraulic fracturing.
The move, reported on Tuesday by the Stock Market Wire news portal, comes after the Environment Ministry upheld a decision of the Environment Agency (ARSO) on the controversial gas extraction project in Petišovci.
The ministry agreed that an environmental impact assessment and a separate environmental permit were necessary because the location of the gas wells was close to water sources and because underground waters and agricultural land in the area do not have very good ability to regenerate.
"The decision of ARSO and the Environment Ministry ignores the opinion of the six independent expert bodies whose advice ARSO sought," Ascent said.
The decision mistakenly concluded that the project fell within a conservation area and misapplied EU case law in relation to mitigation measures, Ascent also said as it announced multi-pronged legal action against Slovenia on 14 July, a day before the deadline for the Administrative Court appeal.
Aside from challenging the decision at the Administrative Court, Ascent plans to submit a claim for damages against the state for breach of EU law including for the unreasonably long time it took for the decision to be reached.
The company will seek damages for loss of future income from the project "which would have been expected to have been a multiple of the historic investment of some EUR 50 million."
It also plans to lodge an investment treaty arbitration claim under the Energy Charter Treaty.
All our stories on Ascent Resources are here
STA, 14 June 2019 - Ascent Resources, the UK developer of the Petišovci gas field in eastern Slovenia, plans to take multi-pronged legal action against Slovenia after it was ordered to get a separate permit for hydraulic fracturing.
Ascent will submit a "robust response to this manifestly wrong decision contrary to EU law," the company said in a permitting update posted on the website www.investegate.co.uk on Friday.
The statement comes after the Environment Ministry upheld a decision of the Environment Agency on the controversial gas extraction project in Petišovci.
The ministry agreed that an environmental impact assessment and a separate environmental permit were necessary because the location of the gas wells was close to water sources and because underground waters and agricultural land in the area do not have very good ability to regenerate.
The decision mistakenly concluded that the project fell within a conservation area and misapplied EU case law in relation to mitigation measures, Ascent said.
Aside from challenging the decision at the Administrative Court, Ascent plans to submit a claim for damages against the state for breach of EU law including for the unreasonably long time it took for the decision to be reached.
The company will seek damages for loss of future income from the project "which would have been expected to have been a multiple of the historic investment of some EUR 50 million."
It also plans to lodge an investment treaty arbitration claim under the Energy Charter Treaty.
"It was the strong desire of the board to avoid such litigation and obtain the permits necessary to develop the field which it was legally entitled to. As it has now become apparent that the possibility of achieving these goals has significantly diminished, the company will move ahead with filing this claim," the statement reads.
As a result of these developments, the company's focus in Slovenia now "inevitably shifts away from the development of the Petišovci Project towards obtaining legal redress for the damages inflicted on shareholders by the actions of the government."
All our stories about this project are here
STA, 10 April 2018 - Hunger for energy resources is almost as old as humankind, but the reasons behind it vary. The first to drill holes in the north-east Slovenia was the German army, and now the efforts to extract gas are driven by greed and the desire to make quick profit, says Delo in Wednesday's front-page commentary.
Quick profit is what British investors were promising to all those who wanted to invest in the project of exploiting the reserves of gas and some oil in the south-eastern-most part of the country.
They want to drill another 12 or 24 holes and use hydraulic fracturing to extract the gas and oil.
But people are distrustful. They used to have free gas and jobs, but now foreign investors came who only want profit.
They are using all means available to get what they want, including an agency to persuade the public and decision-makers, the British ambassador and a campaign and threats on social media.
Because of appeals, the procedure at the Environment Agency is slow. The agency has issued a permit for a planned gas processing plant, which will not be built anyway, but not yet a permit for hydraulic fracturing, which people oppose.
"The people have the feeling that the area along the Mura river cannot be seen very well from Ljubljana. Indeed, when it rained heavily in the capital, the area bathed in the sun."
People in Ljubljana are making plans to build dams on Mura and are stepping up pressure to exploit the natural resources in the area, although the people there want a green development.
"The gas that is coming out of the holes on its own is enough, the rest is just greed," Delo says in the commentary entitled ‘Gas for the Profit of a Handful’.
All our stories on hydraulic stimulation in Slovenia are here
STA, 9 April 2019 - The environmental NGO Alpe Adria Green (AAG) announced it would not file an appeal against the environmental permit for a gas processing plant in Petišovci (NE). It had already said it would be hard to challenge it since the investor has been insisting it did not entail a stepping up of extraction via hydraulic fracturing.
The permit by the Environment Agency (ARSO), which was reportedly issued at the end of March, comes after the original permit for the refinery, issued in 2015, had been successfully challenged by environmentalists.
The AAG said in Tuesday's press release there would be no appeal as the permit covered only the refinery for raw natural gas, and was related to a modernisation of the existing facility under best available technology (BAT) aimed at reducing the environmental impact.
The NGO explained that the original application the UK investor Ascent Resources had sent to ARSO also covered the controversial technology of hydraulic fracturing, which the AAG believes would bring "catastrophic consequences for the local environment, like in the US".
What will be key as regards the refinery, which would be allowed to process 280,000 cubic metres of natural gas and a tonne of oil per day, is the ongoing environmental impact assessment determining whether the UK company can step up extraction via hydraulic fracturing.
ARSO made the decision that a separate permit procedure for hydraulic fracturing was necessary in March and is being challenged by Ascent Resources, which is also threatening to sue the government for damages.
Operating in a joint venture with Geoenergo, which is co-owned by the Slovenian state-controlled energy companies Petrol and Nafta Lendava, the UK company claims it has invested more than EUR 50m in the project so far. It holds 75% interest in the project, Geoenergo's concession for the Petišovci gas however expires in 2022.
Geoenergo told the STA that the permit meant that only one of the conditions had been met for the old infrastructure to be replaced with a new one to enable the refining of gas, which would be pumped into the national gas network.
Natural gas at the site is currently being extracted at the rate of 25,000 cubic metres a day, the company said, adding that the environmental procedures were under way for renewed stimulation of the existing well.
"When the administrative procedures for the existing wells get finalised, we will not exceed the capacity of the existing infrastructure. Our long-term goal is to cover around 10% of Slovenia's needs for natural gas."
Ascent Resources meanwhile said that the value of its shares had doubled since Monday, when it received the permit from ARSO. It added that Petišovci was a small plant, from which the entire production would go into the Slovenian network.
Executive director Colin Hutchinson stressed that the company still expected a permit for the entire project, including hydraulic fracturing, which according to Ascent Resources does not pose a major risk to the environment.
Total output at the location last month was 334,410 cubic metres for EUR 44,095 in revenue, while in 311,443 cubic metres were extracted in February (EUR 44,513), the company added.
All our stories on this project can be found here
STA, 8 April 2019 - In the latest development in the controversial gas extraction project in Petišovci (NE), UK investor Ascent Resources has obtained the permit for a planned gas processing plant. However, according to Delo, things are not looking good for the investor in the separate permit procedure for hydraulic fracturing.
The decision by the Environment Agency (ARSO), which the paper says was issued on 28 March, comes after the original permit for the refinery, issued in 2015, had been successfully challenged by environmentalists.
However, key for the refinery, which would be allowed to process 280,000 cubic metres of natural gas and a tonne of oil per day, will be the ongoing environmental impact assessment determining whether the UK company can step up extraction via hydraulic fracturing.
The refinery permit is still subject to a potential appeal by Alpe Adria Green, but the NGO's president Vojko Bernard told Delo it would be hard to challenge it, since the investor has been insisting the refinery did not entail a stepping up of extraction via hydraulic fracturing or fracking.
ARSO made the decision that a separate permit procedure for hydraulic fracturing was necessary in March and is being challenged by Ascent Resources, which is also threatening to sue the government for damages.
Operating in a joint venture with Geoenergo, which is co-owned by the Slovenian state-controlled energy companies Petrol and Nafta Lendava, the UK company claims it has invested more than EUR 50m in the project so far. It holds 75% interest in the project, Geoenergo's concession for the Petišovce gas however expires in 2022.
All our stories on Ascent Resources can be found here
STA, 12 March 2019 - The UK-based company Ascent Resources has announced it will appeal against the Slovenian Environment Agency's decision that it will have to seek an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for its gas extraction project in the far north-east of the country.
"The partners plan to appeal the decision within the prescribed 15-day period," the UK company has said as quoted by Your Oil and Gas News portal.
The key ground for appeal will be that all six expert government agencies which the agency is required to consult as part of the screening assessment process concluded that no EIA should be required on the basis that the project to re-stimulate two currently producing wells was not likely to have significant effects on the environment.
The Slovenian Environment Agency (ARSO) failed to follow the findings even though bound to so, having not undertaken any independent assessment of the likely impacts of the environment, Ascent Resources said in the post.
Ascent Resources has been extracting and selling untreated natural gas from the Petišovci field in cooperation with its Slovenian partner Geoenergo, but the partners have been unable to get permits for hydraulic fracturing and for a new gas processing plant due to repeated appeals by environmentalists.
The company said that the partners had applied for the screening assessment in May 2017, so they also plan to challenge ARSO's latest decision for not being issued within the two-month period prescribed by Slovenian law. "The failure to comply with other provisions of Slovenian law as well as breaches of EU law will be detailed in the appeal."
Related: Ascent Resources CEO - Company May Sue Slovenian Government Over Fracking Permits (Video Interview)
Meanwhile, Ascent Resources welcomed ARSO acknowledging that the proposed project cannot be regarded as "fracking" as defined by the European Commission in its recommendation in 2014.
Ascent Resources has been working with legal experts in Slovenia and London to prepare claims for damages as "a result of the numerous and continued failures and delays by ARSO and the ministry to comply with Slovenian and EU law".
It said that "any potential claim for damages will take into account the amount invested by Ascent in the project, currently in excess of EUR 50m, and future expected profits from the development of the field which is estimated to be a multiple of the existing investment".
Related: PM Surprised By Hunt Lobbying for UK Fracking Company: “In Slovenia We Operate in Line with the Law”
