(Apr. 26) Eni to enter Russian water. Yesterday, in fact, CEO Paolo Scaroni and Rosneft President Eduard Khudainatov, signed a strategic cooperation agreement in the presence of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, which provides for the joint development of the licenses in the Black Sea and the Barents Sea on the Russian shelf, the exchange of technologies and personnel as well as Rosneft’s acquisition of a participating interest in Eni’s international projects. “We have gained access to two vast and extremely promising areas in Russia, a great hydrocarbon producer,” Scaroni said in a statement. Under the agreement, Eni and Rosneft will set up joint ventures, with Eni holding 33.33% in each,for the joint development of Fedynsky and Tsentralno-Barentsevsky licenses in the Russian offshore of the Barents Sea, and Zapadno-Cernomorsky license in the Russian offshore of the Black sea. In accordance with the Russian regulation currently in place, Rosneft will remain owner of the licenses.
Eni will fund the exploration necessary for confirmation of the licenses’ commercial value, in compliance with the commitments. The deposits are estimated to hold total recoverable resources of 36 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The Barents Sea prospects are very promising also thanks to the surrounding discoveries made by Eni in the Norwegian sector. Seismic data indicates that multiple prospects exist in the Zapadno-Cernomorsky license. (Peg)
