UAE-based Mubadala Petroleum, a global upstream oil and gas exploration and production company, said it has signed an agreement with Italy's Eni to acquire a 10 per cent participating interest in the offshore Shorouk Concession in Egypt.

Eni, through its subsidiary IEOC, holds a 50 per cent stake in the concession which contains the supergiant Zohr gas field. The other partners in the concession are BP with 10 per cent interest and Rosneft with 30 per cent interest.

The Zohr field was discovered by Eni in August 2015 and is the largest natural gas field ever found in the Mediterranean, with a total potential of up to 30 trillion cu ft of gas in place. The field is located 190 km north of Port Said in waters approximately 1,500m deep.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi government's Mubadala Investment Company, the company manages assets and operations spanning now nine countries with a primary geographic focus on the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

The acquisition of a 10 per cent interest in the Shorouk concession with the producing Zohr gas field is a significant portfolio addition for Mubadala Petroleum and marks its entry into Egypt, remarked Dr Bakheet Al Katheeri, the chief executive of Mubadala Petroleum after signing the agreement with Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi in the presence of the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Tarek El Molla in Cairo.

Dr Al Katheeri said this world-class asset will provide Mubadala Petroleum with increasing future production, and substantial reserves, all of which support the Emirati firm's drive for long-term and profitable growth.

"At the same time we have joined a world-class partnership with Eni and look forward to working closely with them to deliver the resources to meet growing local energy demand," he noted.

On the deal, Descalzi said: "We welcome today’s announcement with Mubadala Petroleum, a strong and reliable partner with whom we look forward to working with."

"Working alongside significant partners such as Mubadala Petroleum, BP and Rosneft is a further boost for the development of Zohr and underlines the quality of the asset, which will play a fundamental role in supporting Egypt's goal of achieving energy independence," he stated.

Mubadala Petroleum said the project was delivered in record time as production in the first phase of the Zohr gas field commenced last December.

The field is currently producing over 1.1 billion cu ft of gas per day (bcfd), equivalent to 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Production is expected to increase to 2 bcfd by end 2018 and to reach a production plateau of 2.7 bcfd by end 2019, it added.-TradeArabia News Service