Minister of Petroleum Tarek El Molla signed an agreement with Italy’s Eni, Russian oil giant Rosneft and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), under which Rosneft will acquire up to a 30% stake in the Shorouk concession for the development of the Zohr gas field in the Mediterranean.
Eni will sell the 30% stake for $1.125bn, in addition to a $114m of concession grant, which is the largest concession granted to the oil sector. Rosneft would repay investments already paid by Eni, which have reached a total of around $450m, according to a statement by the Ministry of Petroleum.
El Molla said the joint investments between major international companies in the Zohr gas field reflect positively on the speed of accomplishing the work in the field, scheduled to start production before the end of the year.
The minister welcomed the entry of Rosneft in the Egypt, stressing that the Egyptian oil industry has become more attractive to international companies and investors after the positive results achieved during the last three years.
He pointed out that the increase of major international companies’ investment will be reflected on the Egyptian economy significantly and will increase oil and gas production and reserves to secure the needs of economic growth of energy supplies.
Russian state-run Rosneft is the world’s largest state-owned oil company in terms of petroleum production and reserves.
Italy’s Eni is the main operator of the Zohr field, with a 60% stake in the Shorouk concession, while Russian Rosneft now has 30% and the remaining 10% is owned by British company BP.
