Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9579 — ENI/HitecVision/Norwegian Upstream Assets of Exxonmobil) Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance) 2019/C 371/08
Date: 2019-11-04
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: chemical industry, economic concentration, electrical energy, energy industry, gas industry, investment company, merger control, oil industry








C_2019371EN.01001601.xml










4.11.2019   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 371/16






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.9579 — ENI/HitecVision/Norwegian Upstream Assets of Exxonmobil)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2019/C 371/08)

1.   
On 24 October 2019, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1).
This notification concerns the following undertakings:






—


Eni International BV (‘Eni BV’, Italy), belonging to the ENI Group (‘Eni’),










—


HitecVision Advisory AS (‘HitecVision’, Norway),










—


ExxonMobil (‘EM’, United States) oil and gas upstream business in the Norwegian Continental Shelf (the ‘Target Business’).




Eni BV and HitecVision acquire indirectly, through their joint venture company Vår Energi AS, within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the whole of EM‘s oil and gas upstream business in the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares and assets.


2.   
The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:






—


Eni is a global oil and gas group, active within exploration, production, refining and selling operations, electricity and chemistry,










—


HitecVision is a Norwegian provider of institutional capital to the North Sea region’s energy industry with focus on investments in enterprises within the offshore upstream oil and gas industry, including the oilfield services and technology sector,










—


the Target Business consists of EM’s upstream Norwegian activities of exploration and production of crude oil, natural gas, and NGLs and their sale, including EM’s production licenses, ownership interests, onshore processing facilities, pipeline interests and supply agreements with third parties, as well as the management and employees involved in these activities.






3.   
On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved.
Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under the Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in the Notice.


4.   
The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.
Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. The following reference should always be specified:
M.9579 — ENI/HitecVision/Norwegian Upstream Assets of Exxonmobil
Observations can be sent to the Commission by email, by fax, or by post. Please use the contact details below:
Email: COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu
Fax +32 22964301
Postal address:





European Commission




Directorate-General for Competition




Merger Registry




1049 Bruxelles/Brussel




BELGIQUE/BELGIË







(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’).

(2)  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.