New deal: Paolo Scaroni
Eni boosts Egypt ties
Eni has strengthened its ties to Egypt, wit the company's boss Paolo Scaroni sealing a new co-operation pact with the country's Energy Minister Amin Sameh Samir Fahmy.
The pact covers new initiatives which create a new framework for co-operation between the two parties, Eni said in a release.
Among deals included in the pact, the licence for the 100% Eni-held Belayim field, in the Gulf of Suez, has been extended for a further 10 years through the end of 2030.
The licence extension will enable Eni to implement a five-year, $1.5 billion investment programme covering exploration, development and production in the Sinai area.
The planned investment will cover operating costs and work aimed at optimising production, with the objective of sustaining production volumes in the region and enhancing the reserve recovery ratio.
Eni and the ministry will also jointly evaluate various alternatives for the definition of a commercial framework aimed at allowing development of Egypt's deep gas reserves.
The pact will also see Eni and the ministry jointly evaluate hydrocarbons development initiatives in third-party countries, both in the upstream and in the downstream sectors.
Meanwhile, Italian news agency Ansa said Scaroni will be in Moscow on Wednesday to seek agreement over the South Stream gas pipeline the company plans to build with Russia's Gazprom.
"We are still completely at sea and have not yet reached an agreement," Ansa newswire reported Scaroni as saying.
An Eni spokesperson confirmed Scaroni's comments to Reuters.
Scaroni said he will fly to Moscow on Wednesday to see if it is possible to reach an accord with Gazprom for 15 May, when Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is due to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The Gazprom-led project aims to bring Russian, Caspian and Central Asian gas to Europe and is a rival to the European Union-backed Nabucco pipeline, which aims to reduce Europe's reliance on Russia for its energy supplies.