Mubadala Petroleum buys stake in Egypt concession from Eni
ABU DHABI, November 12, 2018
Mubadala Petroleum has announced that it has agreed with Eni to purchase a 20 percent participating interest from Eni’s share in the Nour North Sinai Offshore Area (Nour) concession, an offshore exploration block in Egypt.
Eni is the operator of the concession through its subsidiary, IEOC.
In the concession, which is in participation with Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), Eni holds an 85 percent interest in partnership with Tharwa Petroleum Company, which holds a 15 percent interest, said a Wam news agency report.
Musabbeh Al Kaabi, CEO of petroleum and petrochemicals, Mubadala Investment Company and chairman of the board of Mubadala Petroleum, said: "This investment enables Mubadala Petroleum to further expand our position in Egypt while deepening our strategic partnership with Eni, the operator of both the Shorouk and Nour concessions.
"This exploration block complements our existing investment in Zohr, supports our growth strategy in Egypt and holds the potential to unlock an additional resource base that could add to our business in the longer term."
The completion of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain customary conditions, including receiving approvals from the relevant Egyptian government authorities.
This transaction would mark Mubadala Petroleum’s second acquisition in Egypt. The company entered the country in June 2018 by acquiring from Eni a 10 percent participating interest in the Shorouk concession, which contains the producing world-class Zohr gas field.
In turn, Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni, said: "This transaction strengthens our partnership after the successful relationship in Zohr and confirms Mubadala Petroleum’s trust in Eni’s robustness as operator, both in projects development and exploration activities."
The Nour exploration block is located approximately 50 km offshore in the Eastern Mediterranean, in water depth ranging from 50 to 400 m, and covers a total area of 739 km. Eni and Tharwa Petroleum Company are currently carrying out drilling of the exploration well as foreseen in the first exploration period of the Nour concession. - TradeArabia News Service
