The Italian company Eni intends to exit permanently from Pakistan after being active in it for 20 years. Sources told the American Bloomberg Agency that the Italian company, which is active in the energy sector in the upstream and downstream sectors, is working with a financial consultant to evaluate its assets in its investment portfolio in Pakistan .
Sources told the agency that the evaluation process includes the company's assets in the Bahit, Badah Ra and Kadanuri fields, in addition to the subsidiary treatment facilities and many non-operating assets, in addition to 4 exploratory franchises and about 8 contracts to develop production in the concession areas.
The Italian Eni produces about 37 billion cubic meters of gas annually in Pakistan, according to the company’s website, which also shows that the company has a power plant that was opened last year with a production capacity of about 20 gigawatts.
The market value of the company listed on the Rome Stock Exchange is about 36 billion dollars, with its shares increasing at the end of trading last week by about 0.5%.
The sources added to the agency that negotiations on the possible sale of the assets are still in their early stages at a time when a company spokesman declined to comment on the matter.
One source indicated that discussions of a possible sale of the assets might be canceled if the Italian company did not receive the appropriate offer.
The possible exit of Italy's Eni from Pakistan comes at a time when the country's gas production has been on record levels over the past few years.
Eni's exit would also be a similar step for major energy companies selling their assets in Pakistan. In 2018, the Austrian OMV AG sold its upstream activities to Hong Kong-based United Energy Group in a deal totaling approximately 158 million euros. It is equivalent to about $ 177 million.
