Eni of Italy on Friday said it has agreed to sell a 10 percent participating interest in the Shorouk concession, offshore Egypt, to BP.
The Italian company currently holds a 100 percent stake in the block where the Zohr gas field is located, through its unit IEOC.
The agreement includes a consideration of US$375 million and the pro-quota reimbursement of past expenditures, which amount so far at approximately $150 million. In addition, BP has an option to buy a further 5 percent stake under the same terms, Eni said in its statement.
The Zohr field, located in the Shorouk concession, was discovered by Eni in August 2015 and is the largest natural gas field ever found in the Mediterranean, with a total potential of 850 billion cubic meters of gas in place.
On February 2016, the authorization process for the development of the field was completed, while the first gas is expected by the end of 2017.
In its statement, BP noted that so far six wells have been drilled on the field.
BP’s CEO Bob Dudley noted that in addition to the Zohr gas field, the first phase of the company’s West Nile Delta project is on schedule to begin production next year, and the fast-tracked development of the Atoll gas field is expected to come on stream in 2018.
LNG World News Staff