Russia's Rosneft takes third of Egyptian gas field for $1.6B

Russia's state-owned oil giant, Rosneft, is buying a 30 percent stake in an offshore Egyptian gas field for $1.6 billion deal.

Italian energy company Eni said Monday it would sell the stake to Rosneft. The Russian company will pay $1.125 billion for the holding in the Shorouk concession, which contains the giant Zohr gas field, and $450 million to cover past expenditures. It has the option to buy a further 5 percent.

Russia media cited Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin as saying in Egypt that the agreement was signed.

The deal is the latest in a series of major acquisitions for Rosneft, which in October purchased Russian producer Bashneft for $5.3 billion and bought into India's Essar Group. Eni said the sale to Rosneft was part of its asset divestment strategy.