An email from the CEO of the oil firm, seen by reporter.london, implies that the company plans a return to the country after years of controversy.

LONDON–Top Georgian opposition and civil society figures have criticised a US oil company for lobbying against international measures aimed at the country’s Georgian Dream party government, which is in the midst of a brutal crackdown on protesters and pro-Western groups, which has attracted UK sanctions earlier this year.

The company’s stance represents a reversal of its position on Georgia’s government, having previously lobbied in favour of penalties. 

Steve Nicandros, the chairman of Houston-based TXN Energy – and who has pursued oil and gas business in Georgia since 1997 with his company Frontera Resources – called on US Congressmen in late September to vote against legislation that would revoke US diplomatic recognition of the Georgian government, according to a Reuters report on 23 October. He did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters. 

In a letter to Republican Congressmen dated 30 September, Nicandros, a long-time Republican party donor, claimed that such a move could harm US business interests in the restive South Caucasus state and push the Georgian Dream government further towards the Kremlin. 

The Georgian Dream party, which won parliamentary elections and formed a government in 2024, is seen by Georgia’s Western partners as pursuing policies that aim to separate the country from the EU and US, while bringing it closer to Russia and China, according to multiple reports.

The letter, cited by Reuters and seen by reporter.london, has prompted concern from civil society and opposition politicians in Tbilisi. 

Speaking exclusively to reporter.london, two prominent voices recalled how Frontera previously drew on its US lobbying connections to pressure a previous Georgian Dream administration in 2020. At the time, Frontera was involved in an international arbitration dispute with the Georgian state oil and gas corporation.

“Mr Nicandros is actually protecting those who destroyed Georgia’s democracy […] and created the type of business environment where only people close to the ruling party can succeed,” the head of Transparency International’s Georgia branch, Eka Gigauri, told reporter.london.

Nicandros did not reply to multiple requests for comment from reporter.london.

“Mr Nicandros’ lobbying in Washington is clearly helping the Georgian Dream government, which now is pro-Russian and pro-Chinese,” Gigauri continued. “Lobbying for such a regime cannot be in line with American interests or democratic values.”

Nicandros’ company, Frontera Resources, was listed on London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market until 2019.

Zurab Tchiarabishvili, international secretary of the opposition United National Movement (UNM), told reporter.london that Georgian Dream was engaging in “undisguised authoritarianism”, and said that the premise that Russia will benefit from pressure on Georgian Dream is “precisely the propaganda message of Georgian Dream.” Last week, Georgian Dream requested that the country’s Constitutional Court ban UNM for its alleged “radical” activities.

Tchiarabishvili and Gigauri both expressed surprise at the turnaround in Nicandros’ position on Georgian Dream given the public standoff between his company and the Georgian government some five years ago.

At the core of the arbitration between Frontera and the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation was the question of whether Frontera had, in fact, proven significant reserves of oil and gas at one of its licensed areas, known as Block XII, in eastern Georgia. Frontera has claimed that Block XII is home to a highly complex and unconventional oil and gas deposit, citing “extensive supporting data.”

As the arbitration progressed, a string of US politicians – who had been lobbied by Nicandros – publicly castigated the Georgian Dream government as being anti-Western, anti-NATO and anti-business over the arbitration. Frontera’s lobbying campaign even included draft US sanctions against Georgian officials for their alleged interference in the activities of US companies. 

The arbitration tribunal, held at London’s International Dispute Resolution Centre, found in Georgia’s favour and did not find any substantive evidence of Georgian government interference in Frontera’s business. 

Strikingly, the tribunal found “no evidence establishing the existence of […] an unconventional resource” at Block XII, or that Frontera had drilled exploration wells at the site. Frontera did not attend the final set of hearings in the dispute. 

GOING BACK TO GEORGIA?

There are, however, signs that the fortunes of Frontera, now apparently rebranded as TXN, are turning brighter and it is planning a return to the country despite previous setbacks.

In a September 2025 email seen by reporter.london, Nicandros, in his capacity as CEO of TXN Energy, told a US Congressman that TXN is the “largest U.S. private sector investor in Georgia’s upstream oil and gas sector” and “has been working in Georgia since 1997” – a characterisation which appears to match Frontera Resources. TXN’s website hosts images of Frontera Resources’ former oil production site. 

Notably, Nicandros told the US Congressman that TXN Energy is “preparing to commence a new $100 million investment program over the next two years that will bring one of our six giant oil and gas fields [in eastern Georgia] into commercial production.”

The email, dated 30 September 2025, has not been previously reported in the media. It did not contain further details about the supposed investment. 

The Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation, the State Oil and Gas Agency, and the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development did not respond to questions about this potential investment.

In November last year, Georgia’s State Oil and Gas Agency put out a tender for oil and gas exploitation at Block XII, Frontera’s old site, but did not report if the tender had been successful.

In response to the latest round of lobbying by Nicandros, former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, who is currently serving multiple prison sentences which he has called politically motivated, and a former governor of the country’s National Bank, both alleged in public statements that Frontera had engaged in misleading practices over the oil and gas deposits it said to have found in eastern Georgia.

Since losing the arbitration, Frontera has encountered a number of claims from its creditors, including the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation. One of its corporate entities, Frontera Resources Corporation, is now set to be dissolved in the Cayman Islands following a liquidation process overseen by Deloitte. The company has not issued an official communication to investors, of which there were believed to be around 200-300 in the UK, since 2019.

Thomas Rowley is a journalist and editor specialising in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and South Caucasus. Between 2015 and 2024, he was lead editor for the post-Soviet space at openDemocracy.

Thanks also to B.M. who has graciously helped the publication of this article with his keen editor’s eye.