Claudio Descalzi-led Italian energy giant Eni hands investors $1.5 billion special dividend as West African oil projects lift production by 7%

Italian energy giant Eni will pay investors a special dividend of approximately $1.46 billion (€1.3 billion) after its third-quarter profit more than doubled, while projects in West Africa helped push oil and gas production higher.

• Eni will pay shareholders a special dividend of approximately $1.46 billion (€1.3 billion) in December.
• Its share-buyback programme has also been increased to about $4.47 billion (€3.8 billion).
• Third-quarter adjusted net profit more than doubled to approximately $3.3 billion (€2.8 billion).
• West African project ramp-ups helped raise production by 7% to 1.83 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The state-controlled company also increased its share-buyback programme by 12% to approximately $4.47 billion (€3.8 billion), extending the cash windfall for shareholders.

Eni reported adjusted net profit of about $3.3 billion (€2.8 billion) for the three months to September, up from €1.3 billion during the corresponding period of 2025.

The result exceeded the €2.5 billion expected by analysts and helped push Eni’s shares up 4% to €27.15, close to their highest level since 2007.

The Italian company also raised its forecast for full-year underlying operating cash flow from €15 billion to €16.5 billion.

Eni disclosed the figures in its third-quarter results⁠ published on 23 October. The company said shareholders would receive an extraordinary dividend of €0.46 per share in December.

“We are further raising the distribution by an extraordinary dividend of €0.46 per share to be paid in the fourth quarter and increasing again the buyback to €3.8 billion,” chief executive Claudio Descalzi said.

Mr Descalzi said the higher payout reflected Eni’s strong cash generation, project execution and historically low debt levels.

West Africa strengthens Eni’s production

Eni’s underlying hydrocarbon production rose 7% from the previous year to 1.83 million barrels of oil equivalent per day during the quarter.

The company attributed the increase to projects ramping up in West Africa, offshore Mexico and Norway, as well as the full-quarter contribution from Searah, its Southeast Asian joint venture with Malaysia’s Petronas.

Eni did not identify the individual West African projects responsible for the third-quarter increase or disclose their separate contributions to the 7% growth.

However, the company has major upstream interests in the region, including the Baleine oil and gas development in Côte d’Ivoire and the Offshore Cape Three Points project in Ghana.

Baleine is the largest hydrocarbon discovery made in Côte d’Ivoire and Eni’s first oil and gas development in the country. The company operates the field alongside Côte d’Ivoire’s national oil company, Petroci, and global energy trader Vitol.

Eni and its partners approved the third development phase of Baleine in May 2026, extending a project that has become important to Côte d’Ivoire’s ambition to expand domestic oil and gas production.

The company also works with Vitol in Ghana, where the two groups are partners in the Offshore Cape Three Points and Block 4 projects.

Beyond West Africa, Eni is advancing projects in Angola, the Republic of Congo, Algeria, Libya and Egypt, making the continent a central part of its global upstream portfolio.

Profit increase had several drivers

West African projects contributed to Eni’s higher production, but they were not presented as the sole cause of the company’s profit increase or shareholder payout.

Eni’s exploration and production business reported adjusted operating profit of approximately $5.45 billion (€4.63 billion), up 76% from a year earlier. Higher production volumes, an improved asset mix and stronger commodity prices supported the division.

Its refining business also generated approximately $860 million (€730 million) in adjusted operating profit, helped by higher utilisation rates and strong refining margins.

Enilive, the company’s biofuels division, recorded an 80% increase in quarterly adjusted operating profit, while renewable-energy business Plenitude almost doubled its contribution.

Eni’s adjusted group operating profit doubled to approximately $7.1 billion (€6 billion), while gearing fell to 9%.

The company had already returned approximately $2.24 billion (€1.9 billion) to shareholders during the third quarter through an earlier dividend instalment and share repurchases.

It has also discovered an estimated 1.23 billion barrels of new hydrocarbon resources since the beginning of 2026, exceeding its exploration target.

Following the stronger performance, Eni raised its full-year production-growth forecast to between 6% and 7%.

The result shows how African production remains important to Eni’s cash-generating oil and gas portfolio, even as the company expands into biofuels, renewable energy and other lower-carbon businesses.