The US oil major Exxon Mobil would have set its sights on the gas business in Mozambique, belonging to the Italian state-owned Eni. This was revealed by the Wall Street Journal, which even speaks of advanced negotiations between the two oil companies, to acquire a share of the natural gas field of the six-legged dog. On the other hand, ENI's number one Claudio Descalzi had already announced divestments in Mozambique.
According to the US financial newspaper, the negotiations concern a 20% stake in the field, of which ENI indirectly controls 50%. The deal could be announced in the coming weeks.
The operation would be a bargain for the US company, which today has a capitalization of 350 billion dollars and which could now take advantage of the collapse in the oil price to take over the business cheaply. In 2013, a 20% stake in the project was sold for more than $4 billion, but shares have since plummeted.
The project in Mozambique is a huge one: according to Eni, Area 4 which is the subject of the negotiations boasts 85 trillion cubic feet of gas and it is estimated that it can cover the consumption of American residential customers for at least two decades.
The sale falls within the Eni's strategies to grow in periods of low cost oil.
