ENI and Gazprom signed an agreement which paves the way for the future handover to Gazprom of the 50% of Eni's stake (33,3%) in the consortium developing the Elephant oilfield in Libya, located in Libya's south-western desert some 800 km from Tripoli. The value of the stake to be handed over by Eni to Gazprom is around $170m. The agreement will be signed in the competent sees and then submitted to the approval of Libyan authorities.
At the same time, Eni and Gazprom signed an agreement which binds both parties to sign within February 28 the gas sale agreement (GSA) for the gas which will be produced in the Siberian fields of Severenergija, the company participated by Gazprom, Eni and Enel.
These agreements are part of the strategic partnership signed between Eni and Gazprom in 2006 which envisages the commitment of both parties to jointly develop project in the entire gas chain. In the framework of this partnership, both parties launched South Stream pipeline project started and Eni entered Russia's upstream sector.