The company also underlined important oil and gas discoveries in 2025 in Angola, Indonesia, Namibia and Norway and forecast a reserve replacement ratio of 140 percent in 2026-2030.

"In the case of scenarios where the average Brent price for the year exceeds $90 a barrel, the full incremental cashflow above this level will be distributed as an extraordinary dividend," ENI's chief financial officer Francesco Gattei told analysts in a call.

He said the dividend would also apply in case gas prices increase by 50 percent.

The company's chief executive Claudio Descalzi said that the Gulf only accounts for 2-3 percent of ENI's global output and said it had no ships currently in the region, where the vital Strait of Hormuz has been mostly blocked by Iranian military action.

"The impact is not so big," he said.

"Energy markets are changing and they continue to be volatile and unpredictable. Our strategy, however, is consistent," Descalzi said.

He pointed in particular to ENI's "diverse project portfolio" in Africa and Asia and growth in new businesses such as renewables and biofuels.

The company said it was also looking at further growth in Venezuela, where ENI is one of six companies licensed by Washington to operate following the ouster of socialist leader Nicolas Maduro by US forces in January.

"We have a positive view of the country. The mood has changed. More will come for sure," said Guido Brusco, ENI's chief operating officer for global natural resources.

He said Venezuela's Perla offshore gas field where ENI is working with Spain's Repsol was "a giant reservoir and we are just producing a little portion of it -- there is big room to improve."

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