By Sabrina Valle and Francesca Landini
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp. is considering selling its majority stake in the Rovigo LNG terminal offshore Italy as part of a strategy to divest from non-core assets, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
The terminal, also named, Adriatic LNG, is owned by Exxon’s subsidiary ExxonMobil Italiana Gas S.r.l. (70.7%), QatarEnergy subsidiary Qatar Terminal Company Limited (22%) and Snam Spa (7.3%). Snam has the right of first refusal should a partner decide to divest.
Exxon said that while it was verifying market interest, it had not made a decision about a potential sale nor has it identified a buyer at this early stage.
“Tests like this are consistent with our focused investment strategy, highlighting our willingness to divest non-core assets to those who can derive greater value,” Exxon spokesperson Meghan Macdonald said.
Any transaction would not impact Exxon’s imports of LNG into the Adriatic LNG terminal, nor its interest in the Italian and European markets as a natural gas supplier, the company said.
(Reporting by Sabrina Valle; Editing by Mark Porter, Kirsten Donovan)
