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BP

Energy Giant Acquires Stake in Eni Gas Field

BP PLC has agreed to buy a 10% stake in Eni SpA's super-giant Zohr gas field offshore Egypt, expanding an already-extensive footprint in the area.

The $375 million stake in the Shorouk concession will give BP access to one of the biggest gas discoveries in recent years. The Zohr field was discovered by Eni in 2015 and is thought to hold roughly 30 trillion cubic feet of gas. The Italian oil company has said it would sell EUR7 billion ($7.41 billion) in assets by 2019, largely through divesting stakes in recently discovered fields, to help it weather the decline in oil prices and to finance future developments.

Under the terms of the Egyptian deal, BP will retain the right to buy another 5% stake in the concession before the end of 2017. The British oil giant will also reimburse Eni for its share of past expenditure once the deal closes -- currently a sum of about $150 million.

--

Sarah Kent

STX OFFSHORE

Sale Halted; Judge Disqualifies Bidder

The sale of STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. hit a hurdle Friday as a bankruptcy court handling the case disqualified a bidder aiming to scoop up the South Korean company's assets.

A U.K. investment fund, whose name wasn't publicly disclosed, earlier this month submitted a letter of intent to buy STX Offshore's assets, including shipyards in Korea and abroad. It dropped out of the bidding because it couldn't demonstrate how it would fund the deal, a judge and spokesman for the Seoul Central District Court said.

STX Offshore, Korea's fourth-largest shipbuilder, filed for receivership in May amid a slump in the global shipping business. Creditors have pumped in billions of dollars to bail out STX Offshore, which logged a 314 billion won ($265.6 million) operating loss last year, following a 1.5 trillion won loss in 2014. The company owes financial institutions nearly six trillion won.

--In-Soo Nam

NASPERS

Currency Woes Weigh on Results

Media giant Naspers Ltd. on Friday posted a 9.2% drop in first-half net profit as strength in its online-shopping businesses wasn't enough to offset the decline in currencies in some of its key markets.

Cape Town, South Africa-based Naspers said net profit for the six months ended Sept. 30 was $554 million, down from $610 million a year earlier. Revenue edged lower, to $2.96 billion from $2.98 billion.

However, core earnings, which Naspers said best represent the performance of its businesses, were up 31% at $914 million.

Naspers, which started reporting its earnings in dollars at the end of its last financial year, said revenues at its e-commerce businesses were up 14% at $1.4 billion, but would have increased by 24% had it not been for the drop in emerging-market currencies. Trading losses declined marginally to $292 million. Naspers owns online retailers in India, Russia and Poland, among other countries.

--Gabriele Steinhauser and Rory Gallivan

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 26, 2016 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)

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