Italian energy giant Eni has agreed to sell to state-owned Mubadala Petroleum a 20 percent stake in Egypt's Nour North Sinai Offshore concession, the company said in a statement on Monday.
“This transaction strengthens our partnership after the successful relationship in Zohr and confirms Mubadala Petroleum’s trust in Eni’s robustness as operator, both in projects development and exploration activities," said Eni's chief executive Claudio Descalzi.
The transaction inked by Descalzi and Mubadala Petroleum chairman Musabbeh al-Kaabi is subject to approval from the Egyptian government.
“This investment enables Mubadala Petroleum to further expand our position in Egypt while deepening our strategic partnership with Eni, the operator of both the Shorouk and Nour concessions,” said Kaabi.
Mubadala Petroleum, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company.
Nour is a block located in the prolific East Nile Delta Basin of the Mediterranean Sea, approximately 50 kilometres offshore in the Eastern Mediterranean, in water depth ranging from 50 to 400 meters, and covers a total area of 739 km2.
Eni and Tharwa Petroleum Company are currently carrying out the drilling of the exploration well as foreseen in the first exploration period of the Nour concession.
In partnership with Tharwa Petroleum Company Eni holds an 85 percent stake in the concession, which is in participation with Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company. Eni and Tharwa are collectively the contractor, with Tharwa holding a 15 percent stake, Eni said.
Eni has been present in Egypt since 1954, where it operates through the subsidiary IEOC.
The company is the main producer in Egypt with an equity production of around 340 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day.
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