ENI - ROSNEFT DEAL
FT - 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.
Last month Eni sold a 10 per cent stake in the field to BP, after new chief executive Claudio Descalzi made it one of his top priorities.
Eni said Rosneft, which is currently going through a privatisation programme, has an option to buy a further 5 per cent stake on the same terms at a later date. The deal also provides for the reimbursement of $450m in past expenditures.
Mr Descalzi has been working to monetise Eni's recent discoveries early, before production begins. Production at the Zohr field, the largest natural gas field ever found in the Mediterranean, is expected to begin by the end of 2017.
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