Rosneft Oil Co. has bought a 30 percent share in the Zohr gas field in the Mediterranean Sea from Italian company Eni S.p.A. (E) for $1.13 billion.
The acquisition is part of Rosneft’s move to strengthen its positions in Europe and Middle East markets.
The oil company, which is majority owned by the Russian Government, said it has also refunded its share in past project costs to Eni, but did not say how much this was.
Following the deal, Eni holds a 60 percent stake in the project and BP owns the remaining 10 percent interest in the largest deepwater gas field offshore.
Zohr, discovered in August 2015, is in the deepwater Shorouk block in the gas-prone Eastern Mediterranean basin, within Egypt’s exclusive economic zone.
The 231-square-kilometer field has reserves of more than 850 billion cubic meters.
