Eni has agreed to acquire a 50% stake and operatorship in exploration Block OFF-5 offshore Uruguay from Argentine state-owned energy company YPF.
The agreement will take effect once Uruguayan authorities approve the transaction.
Block OFF-5, located approximately 200km from the Uruguayan coast, covers 16,883km² at water depths between 800m and 4,100m.
This exploration block is currently operated by MIWEN, a wholly owned subsidiary of YPF, and is in its initial exploration phase.
It lies within an unexplored section of the Atlantic Margin that shares geological features with established petroleum basins.
The deal extends collaboration between Eni and YPF following recent agreements related to the Argentina LNG (ARGLNG) integrated upstream-midstream project.
YPF selected Eni as a strategic partner for a phase of the ARGLNG project and now as the preferred operator for exploration activities in Uruguay.
In a separate development, Eni, through its subsidiary Nigeria Agip Exploration (NAE), has acquired an additional 2.5% interest in Nigeria’s OML 118 deep-water block from TotalEnergies EP Nigeria.
OML 118 is an offshore licence that includes the producing Bonga field, where NAE holds a non-operating stake.
The acquisition, which has received all required regulatory approvals, increases NAE’s share in the OML 118 production sharing contract from 12.5% to 15%.
Eni has been operating in Nigeria since 1962, and reported an average equity production of 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025.
The company said that the acquisition aligns with its strategy to optimise its upstream portfolio and maintain involvement in deep-water projects within Nigeria.
