According to insiders, eni spa is planning to sell shares in its exploration business in Cote d'Ivoire, a potential deal worth about 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion).
According to insiders, Eni SpA (E.US) is planning to sell shares in its exploration business in Cote d'Ivoire, a potential deal worth about 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion).
Insiders said the Italian oil company is working with advisers, including Standard Chartered Bank, on possible share sales. Insiders said Eni may sell up to 30% of its stake and is attracting interest from other energy companies, including those in Asia.
Insiders said the discussions were in early stages and Eni was still evaluating the size of the stake it might sell. Representatives for Eni and Standard Chartered Bank declined to comment.
The share sale would be in line with Eni's wider four-year strategy to raise about 8 billion euros through asset disposals. CEO Claudio Descalzi is pursuing a "satellite model," of spinning off divisions, working with external investors, with the ultimate aim of listing those divisions. Eni has taken such steps in its renewable energy unit, Plenity, and plans similar moves in its bio-refining and mobility unit, EniLive.
Eni's operations in Cote d'Ivoire date back to the 1960s and the company re-entered the country in 2015. Its operations include Baleine, an offshore oil and gas field that is the largest hydrocarbon discovery in the country's history. Eni began production at Baleine in August of last year, less than two years after discovering the field, which raised Cote d'Ivoire's status as a regional energy hub.
The Ivorian government said in August last year that the initial production phase of Baleine would produce 15,000 barrels of oil and about 25 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. According to Eni's website, Baleine is estimated to hold 2.5 billion barrels of oil.