British energy company Gulfsands Petroleum said Friday claims made by Australian energy company ADX on assets in Tunisia are unfounded.

ADX said in a Wednesday statement Gulfsands failed to fulfill its obligations to pay a final installment of $1.5 million for its share of the Chorbane license area in Tunisia on time. Gulfsands, the company said, has not offered "any legitimate justification" for reneging on its contractual obligations.

Gulfsands said in a statement it was cleared by the Tunisian government to take sole ownership of the onshore permit area and contested the claims made by ADX. Claims made by the Australian company are "unwarranted and unfounded," the company said.

Gulfsands counters that it has legal claims against ADX in excess of $1.5 million. ADX offered no counter statement Friday.

Tunisia may be an emerging shale producer in the Middle East, with an estimated 23 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable natural gas and 1.5 billion barrels of technically recovery oil.

Gulfsands said it would conduct seismic surveys of the Chorbane permit area to select potential future drilling locations.