20 years business journey in Pakistan, Italy's Eni SpA oil and gas company is considering selling its energy tests and production facilities in the country, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
Eni works with a financial advisor to gauge interest in the portfolio, telling people who did not want to be identified because the information is not public.
Eni Pakistan still needs to use about 65 percent of the reserves in the blocks licensed to the company.
The blocks' remaining net reserve reserves are estimated at 20 million barrels of oil equivalent, with further upside potential," the company said.
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There are ways to improve recovery," he added. Pakistan is one of the fastest growing gas markets in the world, measuring gas demand of approximately 49 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year. An increase to approx. 55 billion m3 / year is expected in 2028.
With such Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), this exit appears to be a profitable gamble," said a senior energy analyst, who asked for anonymity about his potential stake in the industry.
Why ENI Decided to Leave Pakistan.
Eni Pakistan did not revealed the main reason for a clear early operation windup. However, this may be related to the net loss of $ 3.2 billion in the first quarter of 2020 due to declining oil demand and their reservoirs depletion and subsequent price movements during the pandemic.
According to Bloomberg, the divestiture will include Eni's manufacturing facilities in Bhit, Badhra and Kadanwari, as well as processing facilities and various non-operating facilities. It includes four rental agreements and eight development and production agreements.
As of 2019, Eni will produce 37 billion cubic feet of natural gas annually in Pakistan from 2019. The company opened a solar plant there in 2019, which, according to the website, is about 20 gigawatt hours per year.
An Eni representative declined to comment.
The proposed sale would mark Eni's departure from Pakistan as the South Asian nation's domestic gas production has reached a plateau in recent years. Along with other energy giants, the company sells assets in the country.
In 2018, OMV AG sold its upstream business in the country to Hong Energy-based United Energy Group Ltd. for 158 million euros.
