Russia’s Roseneft signed an agreement with Italian Eni to expand cooperation in the fields of hydrocarbon production, refining, marketing and trading, including in the Egyptian Zohr offshore project, where Eni controls 50%, Rosneft owns up to 35% and BP has up to 15%, reported Al Ahram Newspaper.
The deal was signed as part of the Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni’s visit to Russia, during which he met with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, according to Reuters.
Roseneft said it had agreed with Eni to look into cooperation in oil refining in Germany.
Eni has been operating in Egypt since 1954 through its subsidiary International Egyptian Oil Company (IEOC).
Late 2016, the firm had agreed to sell a 30% stake in Egypt’s Shorouk Concession to Russia’s Rosneft for $1.125b. Eni, through its IEOC, was holding a 90% stake in the concession after selling 10% to BP. The Shorouk concession includes supergiant Zohr gas field in the Mediterranean Sea, which was discovered by the company in August 2015 and is the largest natural gas field ever found in the Mediterranean, with a total potential of 850bcm of gas in place.