The board of directors of Rosneft approved the acquisition of a stake in the Shorouk gas field in the Egyptian offshore area from Italy’s Eni for $2.8 billion, the company reported on December 12, 2016.
Rosneft will pay operator Eni $1.125 million and a share of past expenditures, which amount so far at about $450 million. In addition, Rosneft has an option to buy a further 5% stake under the same terms.
Operator Eni, through its subsidiary IEOC, currently holds a 90% stake in the block, after selling a 10% stake to BP for $375 million, plus past costs. BP also has an option to take a further 5%.
The Zohr field, in the Shorouk Concession, was discovered by Eni in August 2015, in the Mediterranean Sea about 190km north of Port Said in 1500m water depth.
6 wells have so far been successfully drilled on the field.
Thought to be the largest gas discovery made in the Mediterranean, Eni has estimated total gas resources in place in Zohr to be approximately 30 Tcf.
The 1rst phase of development of Zohr is being fast-tracked, with first gas expected in late 2017.
According to IHS Energy, Zohr has the potential to supply much of Egypt’s increasing domestic gas demand and will likely have an impact on regional gas commercialization plans.
In addition, the technical, commercial, and strategic implications of Zohr is estimated to impact Egypt, the region and the industry, where Egypt’s access to monetization infrastructure will likely put it ahead of rivals if commercial terms are right.
Eni has been present in Egypt since 1954 where it operates through IEOC Production. The equity production was about 200,000 boe/d in 2015.
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