Italian energy giant Eni is reportedly considering divesting from specific projects, including Cyprus, but Nicosia on Wednesday said they had so far received no information.

Energy Minister George Papanastasiou was quick to assure that even if that were the case, some fields in which Eni is a partner, like the Cronos find in block 6 in the Cypriot exclusive economic zone (EEZ), have been “fast tracked by the company”.

“Assets like Cronos are derisk and companies don’t usually sell them,” he said.

According to a report in Bloomberg, who cited unnamed sources, Eni is planning to divest more than $4 billion in upstream assets, with Indonesia and Cyprus among the projects potentially being targeted.

“So far we haven’t received any information from that company,” Papanastasiou said.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, Papanastasiou explained that divesting is a common practice done by companies to see if funds could be allocated to other projects.

He added that companies “sell assets, where they have not made a significant investment”, and in the case of energy companies, it might be in fields they have not studied or drilled yet. As a result Eni’s Cronos field is unlikely to be at risk.

“Soon there will be a plan presented, and Eni is working on its recommendations for the development and exploitation of the field.”

Asked what would happen if Eni does decide to divest in the other fields it is a partner in Cyprus, Papanastasiou said that it is not concerning, as it could leave room for more companies to invest in those fields Eni might release.

He said there are “many options” if such an action should occur.

Papanastasiou said that divestment is a common practice, which forces a company to reconsider its portfolio and decide whether funds need to be allocated elsewhere.

However, he added that in the case of Cyprus there is no such information from an Eni technocratic team currently in Cyprus working with a team from the ministry on the development of the Cronos natural gas field.

“We have no further information on the matter. It is an article that was published by a media group [Bloomberg], and says that Eni is working on divesting,” he said.

He added that no formal information has been received however in Cyprus.

If such a move was made by Eni, Papanastasiou said that the decision would be studied, and the government would answer accordingly.

He added that a divestment would also need to be approved by the government of Cyprus.

However, the Italian giant had made known the tactic of divestment and reduction of capital expenditure (Capex).

In a market update on the results of the first quarter of 2024, Eni spoke of a “disciplined investment approach and targeted divestments, which will significantly reduce net capital investments,” compared to the company’s previous four-year plan, Bloomberg said.

In relation to its upstream operations, the company said, “we will leverage our well consolidated model of Dual Exploration, by reducing our equity and anticipating cashflow”.

Bloomberg reported Eni had added that it has made “significant discoveries, for instance, in Ivory Coast, Cyprus, Indonesia and Congo which all hold the potential for the type of equity dilution we have successfully performed in the past”.

The Italian giant has a significant presence in the Cypriot EEZ with participation in a total of seven sea blocks.

The company had previously said that the estimated quantities of natural gas discovered amount to 2-3 trillion cubic feet (tcf) in the Zeus 1 target (block 6, 50 per cent participation with the French Total with Eni as operator) and 2. 5 tcf in Cronos again in block 6, while in the same block there is the Calypso discovery.