The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition by the Italian energy company Eni of the energy group Neptune Energy. The transaction relates primarily to the exploration, production and wholesale supply of oil, refined petroleum products, and natural gas. The EU Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns. Eni had announced its intention to purchase part of Neptune Energy in June 2023, when an agreement was reached between Eni, Vår Energi and Neptune.
The US$4.9bn transaction (US$2.6bn for the Neptune Global Business acquired by Eni and US$2.3bn for the Neptune Norway Business acquired by Vår) will add around 130 kboe/d to the Eni and Vår portfolios. Neptune Energy reported reserves of 484 Mboe at end-2022. In 2022, the company produced 58 kboe/d in Norway of which 57% was gas or LNG, over 20 kboe/d in Indonesia, 18 kboe/d in the Netherlands and 15 kboe/d in the United Kingdom. Eni will take over assets comprising Neptune’s entire portfolio other than its operations in Germany and Norway.