Eni has agreed a $1.125bn deal to sell a 30 per cent stake in its giant Egyptian gas field Zohr to Rosneft, as the Italian company continues efforts to monetise the recently-discovered field.

BP announced that it has agreed to buy from Eni a 10% interest in the Shorouk concession offshore Egypt, which contains the super-giant Zohr gas field, for $375 million.

The IMF Executive Board will meet on Friday, November 11 to discuss Egypt’s request for financial assistance under an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for the amount of $12 billion.

The World Bank welcomes Egypt’s recent economic and social reform measures including the floatation of the currency, measures to boost investment especially in Upper Egypt, adjusting energy prices to reflect market conditions, and strengthening the social safety net.

Europe sees Israel and the region as an important supplier of gas to Europe

The World Bank finances projects for faster delivery of benefits to the people of Egypt in key sectors including social safety nets, energy, transport, water and sanitation, agriculture and irrigation, housing, health, as well as supporting employment-intensive projects and financing for micro and small enterprises. The current portfolio of the World Bank in Egypt includes 24 projects for a total commitment of about US$ 7 billion.

Eni owns the whole of Zohr and has said it is interested in bringing in partners as part of its strategy of selling some of its prize acreage to help meet a target of raising 5 billion euros from asset disposal over the next two years.

Eni engineering and construction subsidiary Saipem on Thursday announced the award of offshore engineering and construction contracts with a combined value of more than USD 1.5 billion, including work related to the Zohr gasfield development project in Egyptian waters.

The new discovery is 12 km off shore, and 10 km north of last year’s find, Nooros. The well was drilled in water depth of 25 m and reached a total depth of 3,750 m and found about 62 m of net gas pay in high quality Messinian sandstones and with "excellent reservoir properties," according to Eni.

Rosneft Trading SA, a company of Rosneft Group, delivered its first LNG shipment as part of its contract with Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company. The delivery of the cargo was made by the GOLAR ICE tanker to the Ain Sukhna port within the Master LNG Supply and Purchase Agreement signed in August 2015.