Eni drops into the red

MILAN, July 29, 2016 – Eni’s results over the first half of 2016 have swung to a loss, as the company’s results slid from a EUR 735 million profit to more than EUR 1.2 billion in losses. Announced on Friday, Eni’s results were weighed down by lower sales.

Net sales over the mentioned period were around EUR 26.8 billion, down from EUR 41.3 billion last year. Sales from the company’s exploration and production unit were hit hard, dropping 36.5% to EUR 7.2 billion, resulting in an adjusted net loss for the first half of EUR 290 million. Production inched up by 0.5% to reach 1.73 million boepd. Shut-in production in Nigeria was offset by positive results from Eni’s operations in Iraq.

“Our main developments are proceeding on time and on budget, allowing us to confirm our expected production growth of more than 5% in 2017. Our exploration, which is focused on near field activity, has allowed us to revise upwards our expectations for new discoveries in just six months,” chief executive Claudio Descalzi said.

Earlier this week, Eni was named as one of the frontrunners in the competition for offshore blocks offered by Cyprus. According to the country’s Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism, the Italian major applied for Block 8 and submitted bids in partnership with Total for blocks 6 and 10. The other companies competing for acreage are ExxonMobil, Qatar Petroleum and Statoil.

On Wednesday, Eni confirmed that it would have to stand trial in Algeria on accusations of having won contracts through bribes. The case is related to Saipem and dates back to 2010. “Eni continues to deny any illegal conduct and is confident that this will be ascertained in court proceeding,” the company said in a statement.

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