Τhe Italian energy giant ENI is considering divesting from certain activities, including those in Cyprus, although Nicosia has not yet received any formal notification on the matter.

According to Bloomberg, citing an anonymous source, the Italian company is contemplating the divestment of natural gas assets valued at $4 billion, with potential targets being its operations in Indonesia and Cyprus.

Asked to comment on this information, Energy Minister George Papanastasiou told CNA that Nicosia has not been informed about the issue. "As of now, we have not received any notification from the company," he stated.

However, ENI's strategy of divestment and reducing capital expenditures (Capex) has been previously announced.

In its market update for the first quarter of 2024 results, ENI mentioned a "disciplined investment approach and targeted divestments that will significantly reduce net capital investments" compared to the company's previous four-year plan.

Regarding upstream natural gas activities, the company noted it would leverage its established dual model, which combines the sale of mature assets with the expected revenue streams.

"We have made significant discoveries, for example, in Ivory Coast, Cyprus, Indonesia, and Congo, all of which hold potential for some form of equity dilution, which we have successfully executed in the past," the company stated.

ENI has a substantial presence in Cyprus's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), participating in a total of seven offshore blocks. The company estimates that the discovered natural gas quantities amount to 2-3 trillion cubic feet (tcf) at the Zeus 1 target (block 6, with 50% participation alongside France's TOTAL, with ENI as the operator) and 2.5 tcf at the Kronos target, also in block 6. Additionally, in the same block, there is the Calypso discovery, which confirmed the extension of the Zohr-type deposits in Cyprus's EEZ.