The Italian state oil company ENI has not table any plan to consider the spin-off of its services unit, Saipem. This was confirmed by ENI's Chairman Giuseppe Rechhi.
The confirmation came after Knight Vinke, the US activist investor, sent a letter to ENI seeking for the immediate separation of the oilfield services firm from the core business of ENI. The letter has been confirmed by several news services last February.
Rechhi was at the sidelines of the Ambrosetti workshop when asked about the proposed separation. His response was, "No, not in any particular way." He declined to discuss though other newspaper reports that ENI was about to sell its 20% stake in its Mozambique project. The purported buyer was Asian oil giant China National Petroleum Corp.
ENI is the majority operator of the African gas project, having a 70% stake in the project. Official ENI statements said that it was in the search for possible partners to fund the projected US$50 billion needed to get the Area 4 offshore project online and into production.
Join the Conversation