Italy’s Eni is keeping its foot on the ground in Iran after major rival Total’s signing of a $5 billion gas deal with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) earlier this month.
Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi says his company is not in a competition for presence in the Islamic Republic, having already clinched deals to develop the country’s Darkhovin oil and Kish gas fields.
“We are happy that Total is in Iran. We are not competing to be the number one,” national daily business newspaper Italy Europe 24 quoted him as saying Saturday.
Descalzi said, “We have been the only company operating in Iran for 15 years and we are still there. Eni as well has signed an agreement, a month and a half ago, with Iranian oil company NIOC, to develop oil and gas fields.”