Gazprom Wants Libyan Stake
Gazprom and the Italian energy concern Eni reached an agreement in principle yesterday on an exchange of assets as part of an agreement on strategic partnership signed last year. As a result, Gazprom will receive a significant share in Eni Power and Eni projects in Libya, which will allow it to establish a resource base close to European markets. Eni will receive in exchange shares in Gazprom Neft, Artikgaz and Urengoil, if, that is, the auction for YUKOS assets goes its way.
Gazprom chairman Alexey Miller met with Eni CEO Paolo Scaroni at the Gazprom central office to discuss further action under the strategic partnership agreement signed on November 14, 2006. A source close to the talks told Kommersant that it was suggested that the Italian company acquire the package of stock belonging to YUKOS that will be sold at auction on April 4 with a starting price of 144.7 billion rubles. If Energogaz, a consortium of ESN-Energo, Eni and Enel, wins the auction, Eni, as owner of 14.7 percent of its shares, will be co-owner of both oil and natural gas assets formerly belonging to YUKOS, which will add to its balance of reserves.
Gazprom will expand its share in Eni Power and Eni projects in Libya. That will provide the Russian company with a resource base close to the highly profitable but so far inaccessible markets of Italy, Spain and Portugal. “Libya only recently opened up to foreigners,” noted Valery Nesterov of Troika Dialog, “and is of huge interest to investors, unlike Algeria, where practically all the resources have been divided up between Western companies.”
Yesterday, Gazprom announced the signing of an agreement with National Oil Co. on product sharing at Lot 19 on the Libyan shelf of the Mediterranean Sea that will provide the Russian company with 10 percent of the hydrocarbons found and produced there in exchange for investments of $200 million. Gazprom also received 49 percent of German concern BASF's Libyan projects in 2006.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 27, 2007
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