Mike Pompeo advises Zenith in $573 million arbitration against Tunisia
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Webdo
Zenith Energy has hired Mike Pompeo and his firm CNQ Global Advisors to advise its British subsidiaries in arbitration against Tunisia over nearly $573 million. The former US secretary of state is also to help explore a possible negotiated settlement, according to the oil company’s statement.
Mike Pompeo, the former US secretary of state and former CIA director, is advising Zenith Energy in its arbitration claim worth nearly $573 million against Tunisia. The British oil group has appointed Pompeo and his firm CNQ Global Advisors to provide strategic advice before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), according to a statement from Zenith Energy.
The assignment is to support Zenith Energy’s British subsidiaries in the proceedings and examine the possibility of a negotiated settlement. The financial terms of the mandate have not been disclosed. Pompeo described the company’s claims as legally sound, an assessment made in his capacity as an adviser to Zenith Energy.
The appointment comes as Pompeo has chaired Reveille Resources, a uranium exploration company in which Zenith Energy is the majority shareholder, since 14 October. The former secretary of state also co-chaired the US-Tunisia strategic dialogue in Washington in July 2019 with Khemaies Jhinaoui, then Tunisia’s foreign minister, and later congratulated Tunisians following Kaïs Saïed’s election, according to details cited by Zenith Energy.
