Shearman & Sterling is advising Mubadala Petroleum on its agreed purchase of a 10% stake in the Egyptian offshore Shorouk Concession, where the super-giant Zohr gas field is located, from Italian energy company Eni S.p.A. The stake is being acquired by Mubadala Petroleum for a consideration of $934 million.

Eni, through its subsidiary IEOC, is operator and holds a 60% interest in the Shorouk Concession (reduced to 50% as a result of the sale). The other partners in the concession are Rosneft with a 30% interest and BP with a 10% interest. The Zohr field, discovered by Eni in August 2015, is the biggest natural gas field discovery in the Mediterranean, with a total potential of up to 30 trillion cubic feet of gas in place. The field is located approximately 190 kilometers north of Port Said in waters approximately 1,500m deep. Production in the first phase of the Zohr field commenced in December 2017 reaching 400 million standard cubic feet per day and is gradually increasing.

The agreement was signed by HE Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Mubadala Investment Company, on behalf of Mubadala Petroleum, and Mr. Claudio Descalzi, Chief Executive Officer of Eni. The signing ceremony was held at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and was presided over by HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and Paolo Gentiloni, Prime Minister of the Republic of Italy. The completion of the transaction is subject to the fulfillment of certain standard conditions, including obtaining all necessary authorizations from Egyptian authorities. 

The Shearman & Sterling team below was supported by associates Sherif Hashem, Sumit Ram, Alice Gunn and Omar Morsy (all Abu Dhabi-Mergers & Acquisitions).

The Team