Italian Minister To Visit Uganda Over ENI Deal

Italy's foreign affairs minister is slated to visit Uganda Jan. 15 to, among other things, press for the approval of the proposed takeover of Heritage Oil PLC's (HOIL.LN) interests in the country by Italy's ENI Spa (E), Ugandan officials told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday.

An official with the office of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said that Franco Frattini would hold talks with the president in which details of the $1.5 billion deal are expected to be discussed.

"He is visiting Uganda as part of his African tour," the official said, adding that the minister would also visit Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritania, Mali, Egypt and Tunisia.

The Ugandan government is expected to make a decision on whether to allow ENI to take over Heritage's 50% stakes in Blocks 1 and 3A, where significant oil reserves have been discovered. People with knowledge of the matter say that the Ugandan cabinet is still divided over whether to back the ENI deal, or allow pre-emption by London-listed Tullow Oil PLC (TLW.LN), which co-owns the two blocks with Heritage.

Last month, Uganda's state media reported that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had planned to visit Uganda over the deal. However, that was before Berlusconi was hurt in an attack in Italy in December. Italian diplomatic officials could neither confirm nor deny the reports.

The Italian embassy in Uganda said in a statement Wednesday that Italy was now focusing new and closer attention on the African continent, which has enormous potential in human capital and raw materials and has a market of 900 million consumers.

"..there is a different Africa from the one traditionally depicted as a land of poverty, disease and endemic conflicts," the embassy said in a statement published by the Ugandan state media.

-By Nicholas Bariyo, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; +256 75-262 4615; bariyonic@yahoo.co.uk

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