Italian oil and gas major ENI has left other international oil majors behind as it has been awarded a long-range of new concession agreements with Abu Dhabi’s national oil company ADNOC, Sharjah’s national oil SNOC and Bahrain’s national oil and gas authority NOGA. In a surprise sweep, the Italians beat Asian and Western competitors for several major offshore opportunities, bringing the company in as one of the major players in the Arabian Gulf constellation. After the retreat of Dutch oil major Shell, the main European giant taking the lead until now was French oil and gas major Total, currently ruling almost all of the UAE’s offshore and onshore sector. Despite the fact that Asian and even Russian parties are showing interest in the region and are quickly scooping up stakes, the Italian success has come as a surprise to some. Until now, the biggest news from ENI has been […]