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Eni’s Chief Executive Officer, accompanied by the Chief Operating Officer of the Exploration & Production Division, Stefano Cao, and along with the Saudi Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources, His Excellency Ali I. Al Naimi, the Chairman and CEO of the Spanish company Repsol YPF, Alfonso Cortina, and the President and CEO of Saudi Aramco, Abdallah S. Jum’ah, today signed a contract for exploration, development and production of gas in "Area C” located in the Rub Al Khali basin, in Saudi Arabia. Activities will be carried out by the joint company set up by Eni (50%), Repsol (30%) and Saudi Aramco (20%).
On 28 January, Eni, in the role of operator and in partnership with the Spanish company Repsol YPF, won the international tender called by the Ministry of Oil and Mineral Resources which saw the participation of major international companies.
The signature of this contract marks the start of exploration activities, consisting of geophysical surveys and the drilling of 4 exploration wells in a total area of approximately 52,000 square kilometres, an area the same size as Lombardy, Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta put together. The gas discovered will be sold to the domestic market for power generation, water desalinisation and as a feed stock to petrochemical plants. Condensates and NGL extracted from the gas will be exported.
Eni’s Chief Executive Officer, Vittorio Mincato said, “This important project reinforces Eni’s presence in the Middle East, a strategic region for the future of the hydrocarbon industry worldwide, and represents a return to the upstream activities in Saudi Arabia, a country in which our company worked in the early Seventies. Eni will use cutting-edge technological and professional competencies and the great experience gained as operator of giant reservoirs throughout the world, from Kazakhstan to Libya, with the aim of developing the country’s energy resources efficiently, while fully complying with the strictest environmental and safety standards.”
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