Rosneft, Eni enter upstream cooperation agreement

Rosneft CEO, Igor Sechin, and Eni CEO, Claudio Descalzi, have signed a cooperation agreement for cooperation between the two companies in Russia and abroad.

Eni said on Wednesday that the agreement relates to exploration and production, refining, trading, logistics and marketing, petrochemicals, and technology and innovation sectors.

The agreement was signed in Sochi in the presence of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, and the Italian Prime Minister, Paolo Gentiloni.

The meeting consolidated previous agreements for the joint development of exploration activities in the Russian Barents Sea and the Black Sea, and will underpin further opportunities between the two groups, including the Zohr project.

To remind, Rosneft last December signed a deal with Eni to acquire a 30% stake in the concession for the Zohr gas field, with an option to acquire a further 5%, and a 15% stake in the project operator. The field is located in Egyptian offshore and is the largest gas discovery of the recent years.

Rosneft is therefore becoming a participant in a project to develop Egypt’s largest hydrocarbon field, and stands alongside with its global partners: Eni and BP. Once the deals between Rosneft, Eni and BP are completed, the ownership of the concession agreement can be structured as follows: Eni – 50%, Rosneft – up to 35%1, BP – up to 15%.

Eni also said that the parties would evaluate the use of the company’s technology for processing heavy oil residues at Rosneft’s refineries and the cooperation in refining activities at German refineries where both companies are shareholders.