The Sharjah National Oil Corporation (Snoc) snapped up a 30% stake in Ras Al Khaimah’s Block 7 from Italian energy company Eni, marking its first investment outside Sharjah, it said on LinkedIn. The acquisition is part of a production sharing agreement between the two entities and Ras Al Khaimah’s National Oil Company (RAK Gas) to develop the oil and gas exploration site. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

About the block: Block 7 covers some 430 sq km of land and has seen “notable” oil and gas exploration activity, including the ongoing drilling of an exploration well dubbed Fennec-01, according to details of the acquisition picked up by Gulf News.

Background: Eni was awarded Block 7 in the onshore of Ras Al Khaimah back in April 2021. The company acted as the operator of the block with a 90% participating interest, with RAK Gas as a partner with a 10% stake.

The new split: After the acquisition, Eni will hold 60% of the exploration rights to Block 7 alongside Snoc’s 30%, while RAK Gas clenches 10%, reports Gulf News. Eni also remains the operator of the site.

It’s not Snoc and Eni’s first tag team: Snoc and Eni inked a 30 year partnership in January 2019 to explore and develop onshore oil and gas fields across three areas onshore Sharjah, after the Italian firm won the emirate’s first ever competitive bidding process for oil and gas concessions. The two kicked off production start-up from the Mahani field (concession area B) in January 2021.

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