Eni Halts Sale of Australian Assets after Bids Fall Short

Giulio Piovaccari and Stephen Jewkes
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
Illustration only - File Photo: Eni (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Italian oil and gas group Eni has put on hold the sale of Australian gas assets it values at around $1 billion after they failed to attract satisfactory bids, two sources close to the matter said, confirming a press report.

One of the sources said offers had been well below what Eni had expected.

A spokesman for Eni said the group would not comment on a press report.

"However, Eni confirms its strategy of rationalization of its product portfolio, which will only become effective when conditions are met for the assets concerned to be adequately valued," he said.

News that the sale process had been halted was reported first by Italian daily MF on Tuesday.

The disposal of its Australian gas assets is part of Eni's plans to sell non-core assets to raise cash after the global downturn triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, and its drive to focus on cleaner fuels.

Eni and its adviser Citi had expected binding bids for the gas assets in Australia by the end of November, two sources had said.

 (Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari and Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Jan Harvey and Susan Fenton)

Categories: Energy Industry News Activity Australia/NZ

Related Stories

Offshore Solar Farm Set for Integration with Dutch Offshore Wind Project

Offshore Solar Farm Set for Integration with Dutch Offshore Wind Project

Woodside Wraps Up Louisiana LNG Stake Sale to Stonepeak

Woodside Wraps Up Louisiana LNG Stake Sale to Stonepeak

Karoon Energy Places Winning Bid for Six Blocks Offshore Brazil

Karoon Energy Places Winning Bid for Six Blocks Offshore Brazil

Current News

Shell Boosts Production from Norway’s Ormen Lange Offshore Field

Offshore Solar Farm Set for Integration with Dutch Offshore Wind Project

Centrica and Thailand’s PTT Ink Long-Term LNG Supply Deal

ADNOC-Led Consortium Closing in on Santos Takeover

Subscribe for OE Digital E‑News

Offshore Engineer Magazine