* Shell, Eni are seeking to sell oil, gas assets -source
* OMV preparing to launch asset sales, sources say
* Tunisia has struggled to attract investments since 2011
(Adds OMV, Eni and Shell declined to comment)
By Ron Bousso and Shadia Nasralla
LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell and
Italy's Eni are seeking to sell their oil and gas
operations in Tunisia, industry sources said, as the North
African country struggles to attract new investments following
years of political instability.
Shell has hired investment bank Rothschild & Co. to sell its
Tunisian assets, which include two offshore gas fields and an
onshore production facility the Anglo-Dutch company acquired as
part of its 2016 $53 billion takeover of BG Group, the sources
told Reuters.
Shell tried to sell its Tunisian assets in 2017 but
abandoned the process due to legal disputes with the Tunisian
government.
Rothschild did not respond to requests for comment. Eni and
Shell declined to comment.
Eni, which has operated in Tunisia since 1961, has hired
investment bank Lazard to run its sale, according to the
sources.
Eni produced around 5,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day
(boed) in Tunisia in 2019 and has nine oil and gas production
concessions and one exploration permit in Tunisia, according to
its website.
The gradual departure of major western energy companies from
Tunisia in recent years follows growing frustration with the
country's unstable regulatory and political environment since
the 2011 revolution that has led to investments drying up.
It also comes as the world's top oil and gas companies are
seeking to sell tens of billions of dollars worth of assets to
reduce debt and focus on the most competitive production.
Tunisia's Energy Ministry told Reuters: "We have no official
knowledge that these companies will sell their assets."
Austrian energy company OMV also plans to sell its
remaining oil and gas portfolio in Tunisia after gradually
reducing its presence in the country, the sources said.
OMV declined to comment.
In 2018, OMV sold the majority of its portfolio in the
country to Oslo-listed Panoro Energy for $65 million.
It produced around 4,000 boed in 2019, according to its annual
report.
Last year OMV and Tunisia's national oil company started the
Nawara gas field, the largest project in the country in recent
years which is will increase OMV's output by 10,000 boed at its
peak, according to the company.
Mazarine Energy, backed by private equity giant Carlyle
Group is also seeking to sell up to half of its stakes in
its Tunisian oil exploration licences to accelerate their
development, its CEO told Reuters last November.
(Additional reporting by Tarek Amara in Tunis, Stephen Jewkes
in Milan; editing by Louise Heavens and David Gregorio)
