ExxonMobil To Buy 25% Stake In Mozambique Area 4 From Eni For $2.8 Bln

(RTTNews) - Oil company Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) Thursday said it has signed a sale and purchase agreement with Italian oil and gas company Eni SpA (E) to acquire a 25 percent indirect interest in the natural gas-rich Area 4 block, offshore Mozambique. The agreed terms include a cash price of approximately $2.8 billion.

Eni currently holds a 50 percent indirect share in the block through a 71.4 percent stake in Eni East Africa, which owns 70 percent of the Area 4 concession.

The acquisition will be completed following satisfaction of a number of conditions precedent, including clearance from Mozambican and other regulatory authorities.

Darren Woods, chairman and chief executive officer of ExxonMobil, said the asset is a major addition to the company's global development portfolio.

Eni will continue to lead the Coral floating LNG project and all upstream operations in Area 4, while ExxonMobil will lead the construction and operation of natural gas liquefaction facilities onshore.

Following completion of the transaction, Eni East Africa S.p.A. will be co-owned by Eni and ExxonMobil with 35.7 percent stake each, and CNPC with 28.6 percent stake.

The remaining interests in Area 4 are held by Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos de Mozambique E.P., Kogas and Galp Energia.