Eni's First Gas From Zohr Field, Broadens Moroccan Footprint

Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E) announced that it has commenced natural gas production in Zohr field, located off the coast of Egypt. The field has huge gas reserves, estimated at more than 30 trillion cubic feet by the integrated energy firm.

The company had discovered the giant field in 2015. Hence, the production of first gas within less than two and a half years has been a big achievement for the company, considering the size of the field. With huge and potential gas resources, the discovery was touted to be the largest in the Mediterranean area.

As per media resources, once Eni completes full development of the field, daily output of natural gas will likely touch 2.7 billion cubic feet.

The offshore gas field is based in the Shorouk block — where Eni has a 60% stake. The remaining 30% and 10% are owned by Rosneft and BP Plc (NYSE:BP) , respectively.

In a separate announcement, Eni revealed that it has diversified its upstream portfolio by broadening its footprint in Morocco. With a Petroleum Agreement (PA) with Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM), the Italian energy firm will be able to explore potential offshore resources spreading over 23,900 square kilometers.

Based in Rome, Eni is poised to gain from these upstream projects. Over the past year, the stock has rallied 4.9%, outperforming the industry’s 4.6% gain.

Presently, Eni carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked players in the energy sector are Lonestar Resources US Inc. (NYSE:E) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (NYSE:SNP) . Both the companies sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Headquartered in Fort Worth, TX, Lonestar is an upstream energy player. The company is expected to post year-over-year earnings growth of 81.3% in 2017.

Headquartered in Beijing, China Petroleum is a leading integrated energy player. The company will likely witness year-over-year earnings growth of 59.1% in 2017.

Zacks’ Best Private Investment Ideas

While we are happy to share many articles like this on the website, our best recommendations and most in-depth research are not available to the public.

Starting today, for the next month, you can follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time. Our experts cover all kinds of trades… from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises. You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors.

Click here for Zacks' private trades >>