LNG

Oct 27 (LNGJ) - Italian energy company Eni said it expected to complete the sale of a 25 percent stake in Area 4 licence in the Rovuma Basin, offshore Mozambique to US major ExxonMobil before the end of 2017. Eni explained the status of the delayed deal in its third-quarter earnings statement. ExxonMobil agreed in March 2017 to pay around $2.8 billion for part of the Eni stake in the Area 4 concession with estimated resources of 85 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Under the deal, 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 liquefaction and export facilities onshore. Eni’s earnings showed third-quarter net profits of 340 million euros ($395M) compared with a loss of 562M euros in the year-ago quarter.