Egypt Close to Offering Eni Revised Gas Price

Egypt is close to an agreement with Eni to offer more competitive price for the gas the Italian company produces in the North Africa nation, an Egyptian official told Reuters on Monday.

Mahfouz El-Bony, vice chairman for agreement and exploration at state-owned gas company EGAS, did not provide details about the price and timing of the agreement.

However Bony said the existing price of $2.65 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) was "not economically feasible" for companies, Reuters reported.

"The price ... is not becoming competitive for investors to develop as the cost of drilling and the development plans is all increasing", he said, suggesting that the government may pay a higher price.

Bony, who was speaking on the sidelines of an energy event in Abu Dhabi, said the talks were related to Eni's offshore Mediterranean concession.