Eni says selling Arctic stake to Novatek-Gazprom Neft

MILAN - Agence France-Presse

Italian energy giant Eni said on Wednesday it is selling its stake in Arctic Russia to Yamal Development, a joint venture owned by Novatek and Gazprom Neft, for $2.94 billion (2.17 billion euros).
 
Under the deal, signed in Moscow, Eni will hand over its 60-percent stake in Arctic Russia, which owns 49 percent of Severenergia.
 
The Russian oil and gas company holds four licences for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons in the region of Yamal Nenets and is expected to produce 36 billion cubic meters of gas and liquids by 2017.
 
Eni said that the transaction was subject to approval and specified that the sale price "will be paid in cash at closing." Novatek and Gazprom Neft had been keen to raise their stake in Severenergia to ward off possible ownership challenges from state oil giant Rosneft.