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Rosneft and Eni to sign agreement on expanding cooperation

SOCHI, May 17. /TASS/. Rosneft and Eni will sign an agreement on expanding cooperation, according to the materials for the negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin with Prime Minister of Italy Paolo Gentiloni.

"The interaction between Rosneft and Eni is successfully developing. During the visit of Paolo Gentiloni, an agreement on expanding cooperation is expected," the documents said.

Earlier, Head of Rosneft Igor Sechin said that Rosneft would like to expand cooperation with the Italian corporation Eni in geological exploration, production, refining and development of technologies.

Eni is one of Rosneft's strategic partners in the development of the Russian continental shelf, in particular the Barents Sea and the Black Sea. In 2013, the companies signed a declaration on development of the Russian Arctic shelf.

At the end of 2016, the board of directors of Rosneft approved the acquisition of a stake in Shorouk gas block project in the Egyptian offshore area from Eni for $2.8 bln. In particular, the board approved the purchase of 30% in the Shorouk concession agreement, as well as the acquisition of 15% in a joint venture, set up by IEOC Production B.V. and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, which is the operator of the project on the stage of development. Rosneft also has an option to acquire 5% in the concession agreement and 2.5% of the joint venture before December 31, 2017. The transfer of shares should take place within one year since the signing of the agreement, full payment should be made not later than May 31, 2018.

Rosneft’s aggregate investments in Shorouk gas block project in the Egyptian offshore area will total $4.5 bln in four years. According to Rosneft, the company will cooperate with its long-standing partners - global oil majors Eni and BP - in this project. Once the transactions between Rosneft, Eni and BP are finalized, the shareholder structure of the concession agreement will be as follows: Eni - 50%, Rosneft - up to 35%, BP - up to 15%. The stake acquired by Rosneft from Eni is worth $1.125 bln, the report said. Also, Rosneft will pay $450 mln worth of 2016 past costs to Eni.