Eni says paid $888 mln to Iran oil company for crude in 2010

Dow Jones: Eni SpA (E), Italy’s biggest oil and natural gas company, said it paid $888 million to the National Iranian Oil Company for crude last year and purchased a further $1.1 billion of Iranian oil from others in the same period.

ROME (Dow Jones)–Eni SpA (E), Italy’s biggest oil and natural gas company, said it paid $888 million to the National Iranian Oil Company for crude last year and purchased a further $1.1 billion of Iranian oil from others in the same period.

Eni’s refining and marketing division bought 1.6 million metric tons of oil from the Iranian state-owned company last year compared with 980,000 tons worth a total of $419 million in 2009, it said in a filing this week to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In addition, the Rome-based company said it bought from international traders and oil companies crude it believes was purchased from Iranian companies. Last year, this amounted to 2.09 million tons worth $1.1 billion compared with 278,000 tons worth $147 million in 2009, Eni said.

Company website: www.eni.it

-By Liam Moloney, Dow Jones Newswires; +39 06 6976 6924; liam.moloney@dowjones.com