On “take-or-pay” contracts with Russia, the Ukraine crisis “strengthens very much our hand”, depending how the situation evolves. “We feel in very good shape”. These were the comments of ENI chief executive Paolo Scaroni in an interview in the Financial Times on the crisis in Ukraine. In the interview, he reiterates his doubts over the South Stream project and the limited repercussions on ENI’s activity. In terms of European energy policy, Scaroni commented that “Europe is too dependent on Russian gas to stop imports in the short term, although I believe that Italy could get by”.
Looking to ENI’s activity in Russia, he observed that ENI was “smart to sell Arctic Russia. We got the timing right”. Asked if increased tensions in Ukraine had influenced his decision, Scaroni said that they had been “one of the issues in the puzzle”. ENI’s chief executive intends to return to Kiev soon to discuss nine blocks of shale gas in the northern Lviv basin where ENI has paid for exploration rights. Source: Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor.
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