Italy’s Eni Says Happy with Total’s Presence in Iran


Italy’s Eni Says Happy with Total’s Presence in Iran

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The CEO of Eni said the Italian oil giant is not competing with France’s Total in Iran, noting that it has also signed an agreement with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to develop oil and gas fields in the Islamic Republic.

“We are happy that Total is in Iran. We are not competing to be the number one. We have been the only company operating in Iran for 15 years and we are still there. ENI as well has signed an agreement, a month and a half ago, with Iranian oil company NIOC, to develop oil (Darkhovin) and gas (Kish) fields,” Claudio Descalzi said as quoted by national daily business newspaper Italy Europe 24 on Saturday.

Total became the first European oil company to sign a deal with the Islamic Republic in more than a decade, leading a consortium to develop Iran’s giant South Pars which the largest natural gas field in the world.

He added, “ENI is in a different position with respect to its competitors. In the last seven years, we found fields for 14 billion barrels, under one dollar per barrel, which means that the cost of developing these fields are very low. We are also present in many, many countries, among which there are Libya, Egypt and Venezuela. ENI is active in Nigeria, Angola, Congo, Ghana, Kenya and Mozambique, without forgetting the important findings in Mexico.”

Iran and Italy have signed deals potentially worth billions in sectors including energy, railways and defense. Italy's export agency and state lender has pledged billions of euros in credit lines and guarantees.

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