Political considerations

A substantial portion of Eni’s oil and gas reserves and gas supplies are located in Countries which are politically, socially and economically less stable than OECD Countries. Therefore Eni is exposed to risks of material disruptions to its operations in those less stable Countries. As of December 31, 2013, approximately 78% of Eni’s proved hydrocarbon reserves were located in such Countries and 62% of Eni’s supplies of natural gas came from Countries outside OECD Countries.

Adverse political, social and economic developments in any of those less stable Countries may negatively affect Eni’s ability to continue operating in an economic way, either temporarily or permanently, and Eni’s ability to access oil and gas reserves. In particular, Eni faces risks in connection with the following issues:

1. lack of well-established and reliable legal systems and uncertainties surrounding enforcement of contractual rights;
2. unfavourable developments in laws, regulations and contractual arrangements leading, for example, to expropriations or forced divestitures of assets and unilateral cancellation or modification of contractual terms. Eni is facing increasing competition from state-owned oil companies who are partnering Eni in a number of oil and gas projects and properties in the host Countries where Eni conducts its upstream operations. These state-owned oil companies can change contractual terms and other conditions of oil and gas projects in order to obtain a larger profit share from a given project, thereby reducing Eni’s profit share. Furthermore, as of the balance sheet date receivables for €575 million relating to cost recovery under certain petroleum contracts in a non-OECD Country were the subject of an arbitration proceeding;
3. restrictions on exploration, production, imports and exports;
4. tax or royalty increases (including retroactive claims); and
5. civil and social unrest, internal conflicts and other forms of political instability sabotages, strikes, acts of violence and incidents. These risks could result in disruptions in the economic activity, loss of output, plant closure, project delays, the loss of our personnel or assets, cause us to evacuate our personnel from certain Countries, cause us to increase spending on security worldwide, disrupt financial and commercial markets, including the supply of and pricing for oil and natural gas, and generate greater political and economic instability in some of the geographic areas in which we operate. Areas where we operate that have significant risk include, but are not limited to: the Middle East, Libya, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Angola, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Russia, and Venezuela. In addition, any possible reprisals as a consequence of military or other action, such as acts of terrorism in the United States or elsewhere, could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated results of operations, and consolidated financial condition. In 2013 our expected production levels in Nigeria and Libya were negatively impacted by continuing social unrest, protests, strikes, acts of sabotage and theft which forced us to disrupt or reduce our producing activities with an estimated cumulative loss of output of 110 BOE/d for the year, negatively affecting our results of operations and cash flow. Looking forward, we expect that those risks will continue to affect our operations in those Countries and we do not plan for any meaningful recovery in our production plateau in both Countries over the next couple of years. In 2013 our production in Libya was 228 KBOE/d, down by 12% from 2012; in Nigeria its was 125 KBOE/d down by 19% from 2012. For more information about the status of our operations in Libya see the paragraph below.

While the occurrence of those events is unpredictable, it is likely that the occurrence of such events could cause Eni to incur material production losses or facility disruptions, by this way adversely impacting Eni’s results of operations and cash flow.

Risks associated with continuing political instability in North Africa and the Middle East
As of end of 2013, approximately 30% of the Company’s proved oil and gas reserves were located in North Africa and the Middle East. In 2011, several North African and Middle Eastern oil producing Countries experienced an extreme level of political instability that has resulted in changes in governments, unrest and violence and consequential economic disruptions. The instability of the socio-political framework in those Countries still represents an area of concern involving risks and uncertainties for the foreseeable future; particularly the internal situation in Libya continues to represent an issue for Eni’s management. Throughout the course of 2013, Eni’s production performance in Libya was negatively impacted due to force majeure events reflecting ongoing instability in the socio-political context of the Country. It is worth mentioning that Eni is currently engaged in the recovery of the full production plateau at its producing assets in the Country, following the internal conflict of 2011 that forced the Company to shutdown almost all its producing facilities including gas exports for a period of about 8 months with a material impact on production volumes and operating results of that year. Due to the complexity of the transition period which the Country is currently undergoing, Eni is still in the process of restoring the full production plateau at its Libyan fields. For the full year 2013 Eni’s facilities in Libya produced a level of 228 kboe/d, which was significantly lower than the pre-crisis production plateau of 273 KBOE/d attained in 2010.

The internal situation in Egypt too seems to be complex as political unrest and civil clashes have been escalating throughout the course of 2013 jeopardizing any economic activity in the Country. However, the Company has not experienced any disruption at its producing activities in the Country to date.

The Company believes that the political outlook in North Africa and the Middle East remains an area of risk for the Company’s operations, results and strategic development.