Several executives and analysts have wondered how Eni would pay for the two deals it recently signed. Shelling out $1.35bn for Heritage’s Ugandan assets is in itself not a huge sum for the Italian energy group, nor is the signing bonus attached to its agreement to develop Zubair, Iraq’s fourth largest oil field. The true costs come later. Together the two ventures could take more than $30bn to develop. With Eni acting as the main partner in both, its own bill will be relatively hefty, especially for a company whose gearing is already above its comfort zone.

Here, in his own words, is how Paolo Scaroni, the company’s chief executives,sees it: