en.Wedoany.com Reported - Italian energy company Eni has hired Morgan Stanley to explore a potential deal involving floating liquefied natural gas assets, which could raise at least €1 billion for Eni. According to a Reuters report on Tuesday, infrastructure giants Apollo, KKR, and Stonepeak have been approached in early discussions. The structure being considered would allow external investors to inject capital into a vehicle linked to the cash flow from Eni's floating LNG operations.

The global LNG market remains under pressure from disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, with Europe and Asia increasingly competing for cargoes. Floating LNG assets have become more attractive because they can monetize offshore gas faster than large onshore terminals, with fewer geopolitical bottlenecks. Among major European energy companies, Eni holds a relatively mature floating LNG portfolio, currently operating floating LNG facilities offshore Mozambique and Congo, with plans for additional deployments in Mozambique and Argentina in the coming years.

Floating LNG is increasingly viewed as energy cash flow akin to a toll-road model rather than upstream infrastructure, with assets offering long lifespans, contracted revenues, and access to global gas markets without direct commodity price risk. For Eni, this strategy also fits a broader pattern: major European energy companies need to fund growth projects and energy transition spending while maintaining shareholder dividends. Last week, Eni shareholders approved a €4 billion share buyback plan, with dividends continuing to be paid.

Selling stakes in infrastructure-related assets has become one way to unlock capital without scaling back the underlying business. Investors are seeking LNG exposure beyond the Persian Gulf, and with the Middle East still unstable, African gas projects appear to carry less political risk when the Strait of Hormuz is just one missile strike away from the next shipping panic. Currently, LNG flexibility has become a premium business.

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