Eni holds a 63% stake in Oslo Stock Exchange listed Var, and together they will acquire all of Neptune's assets stretching from Europe to Asia.

Var will take Neptune's Norweigian fields, while Eni will take the remainder of the business for C$2.6 billion.

In a statement on Friday, Eni chief executive Claudio Descalzi said the deal would "deepen" eni's presence in offshore Indonesia and build the company's gas portfolio in Europe.

"Eni sees gas as a critical bridge energy source in the global energy transition and is focused on increasing the share of its natural gas production to 60% by 2030," Descalzi said.

"Neptune will contribute predominantly gas resources to Eni's portfolio.

"Moreover, the geographic and operational overlap is striking," he added.

Eni will add 386 million barrels of oil equivalent to its 2P reserves, translating to an acquisition cost of US$10.1 per boe.

Blacktip backfill from Petrel project

For years Eni has struggled to maintain production from its Blacktip gas field offshore Northern Australia.

It has left the NT government to buy emergency supply from Ichthys LNG and the Darwin LNG project at much higher prices than usual.

In the interim, Santos will send gas from its depleting Bayu-Undan project however this may not last long.

Eni's acquisition of Neptune will see it take a 54% interest in the Petrel project in the Bonaparte Basin alongside Santos (40.25%) and Beach Energy (5.75%).

"Though development options for Petrel are currently being assessed, there could be optionality to leverage existing infrastructure including the Eni Blacktip field which produces and processes gas offshore for deliver to shore," Eni said on Friday.

Global expansion

In the UK, Neptune produced around 15,000 boepd - predominantly gas - from its North Sea assets.

The deal sees Eni also acquiring fields producing at 18kboepd in the Dutch portion of the North Sea. Neptune was the largest gas producer in the Netherlands.

In Algeria and Egypt, Eni is building its presence dramatically. It will acquire 100% at the Touat field in Algeria which needs maintenance and upgrades across infrastructure. When Touat comes back online, it should produce at around 70kboepd.

"In the context of the war in Ukraine, Algeria has become a key supplier of gas to Europe," Eni noted.

The company also consolidates its interest in the Jangkrik and Merakes fields of Indonesia.

Source: ENB - Energy News Bulletin