Italian oil and gas company Eni SpA (E) aims to become one of the world’s petroleum giants through acquisitions and the intensification of hydrocarbon exploration, CEO Vittorio Mincato and the group’s top management has said. Eni has updated its 1999 to 2003 business plan after beating production targets. In 2003, Eni now aims to produce 1.6 million barrels of oil equivalent a day. The previous target for the four-year period was 1.5 million barrels a day, but the company will reach that level in 2002. In addition to Eni’s presence in Portugal and in the Blue Stream project, the company wants to enter Spain and Germany. The company also wants to exploit deposits outside Italy. Mincato said Eni is proceeding with the largest international expansion programme in its history. In addition to investments in the Caspian Sea, the company is investing USD 5.5 billion in Libya for the development of gas reserves in North Africa and the creation of a pipeline that will transport eight billion cubic metres of gas a year from 2004. Eni also has exploration projects under way in W. Africa and a project in Nigeria for the exploration of liquified gas. The company also is investing in Iran, the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and Venezuela.
