Eni and BP Plc (NYSE: BP) completed a deal that will give BP a 10% stake in the Shorouk concession offshore Egypt, where the super-giant Zohr gas field is located.
Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni; Bob Dudley, CEO of BP; and Tarek El-Molla, the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources; signed a deed completing the sale in Cairo on Feb. 13 in the presence of Egypt’s Prime Minister Sherif Ismail.
Eni and BP first agreed on the sale of the concession stake in November 2016. Eni, through its subsidiary IEOC, now holds a 90% stake in the license, while Rosneft has agreed to acquire a 30% stake, subject to Egyptian governmental approval.
In January, Descalzi confirmed that the development of Zohr is progressing quickly, having been fast-tracked, and that the start of production is confirmed for 2017, just two years after the discovery was made. Zohr was discovered by Eni in August of 2015 and, with a total potential of 850 billion cubic meters (Bcm) of gas in place, is the largest natural gas field ever discovered in the Mediterranean.
This is not the first partnership in the region for the two companies. Eni and BP are also partners in the Nooros Field, discovered in July 2015 in the Nile Delta, that is already producing about 25 MMscm/d only 15 months after its startup, as well as in Baltim SW Field, discovered in June 2016. The startup of Baltim SW is expected in 2019.
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