Eni strikes US$1.8bil in oil and gas deals with Abu Dhabi

DUBAI: Italian energy company Eni SpA won rights to pump oil at two blocks off the coast of Abu Dhabi and sold the Middle Eastern crude producer a stake in Egypt’s giant Zohr natural gas field, a deal involving combined payments of US$1.8bil.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co awarded Eni a 10% share in the Umm Shaif and Nasr oil fields in the Persian Gulf for a payment of US$575mil, the companies said.

Rome-based Eni will also take a 5% stake in the Lower Zakum deposit for US$300mil, they said.

At the same time, Abu Dhabi government-owned Mubadala Investment Co agreed to pay Eni US$934mil for 10% of Egypt’s Shorouk concession, the Mediterranean area containing the Zohr gas field, Eni Mubadala said in separate statements.

Eni’s 40-year oil contract with Abu Dhabi will give it long-term access to crude and enable the company to expand its regional business, said Tom Quinn, a Dubai-based analyst at consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd. Eni produces crude and gas in Libya and oil in Iraq, in addition to its operations in Egypt, where it started producing gas from the giant offshore Zohr field in December.

Abu Dhabi, the largest sheikhdom in the United Arab Emirates, holds most of the nation’s crude. It split an offshore production concession that expired last week into three blocks, and Eni is the fourth international entrant to secure rights to one of the and new areas.

Like its larger neighbors Saudi Arabia and Iraq, Abu Dhabi is also seeking gas to generate power for industries such as petrochemicals.

The emirate is seeking partners that can contribute technology and join projects to double refining capacity and nearly triple petrochemical output, Adnoc said last week.

It plans to offer projects for investment as early as May and will also seek bids for new exploration blocks, the company said.

Further collaboration with Eni “would create significant added value to Adnoc’s refining assets,” the Italian company’s chief executive officer Claudio Descalzi said in a statement.

“Eni is very strong in North Africa, but has traditionally been under-exposed to the Middle East,” Wood Mackenzie’s Quinn said in an email.

Adnoc “is looking to find a balance in its strategic partners” between those from major oil-importing nations such as Japan and India and international oil companies with technology and project expertise”, he said.

Cia Espanola de Petroleos SA, a Spanish refiner owned by Mubadala, paid US$1.5bil for a 20% stake in Abu Dhabi’s Sateh Al Razboot and Umm Lulu fields in a deal announced Feb 18.

A group of Indian companies paid US$600mil for rights to 10% of Lower Zakum on Feb 10, and Japan’s Inpex Corp bought the same-sized stake last month. — Bloomberg