Rockhopper upbeat on arbitration progress against Italy

North Falkland Basin-focussed oil and gas company Rockhopper Exploration updated the market on its international arbitration against the Republic of Italy in relation to the Ombrina Mare field on Friday.

The AIM-traded firm said the tribunal had provided an update to the arbitration process earlier in the day, saying it expected to be in a position to render its award in July.

It said the tribunal would revert to the parties towards the end of June to confirm that timeframe.

“Rockhopper continues to believe it has strong prospects of recovering very significant monetary damages, on the basis of lost profits, as a result of the Republic of Italy's breaches of the Energy Charter Treaty,” the board said in its statement.

“All costs associated with the arbitration are funded on a non-recourse basis from a specialist arbitration funder.”

Rockhopper said it would provide a further update in due course.

At 1329 BST, shares in Rockhopper Exploration were up 8.87% at 9.25p.