LONDON/MILAN: Italy’s Eni will cut investments by more than a fifth in the period to 2019 and sell down stakes in oil and gas fields as it presses ahead with plans to become a leaner exploration-driven player.

In a statement on its new 2016-2019 business plan the state-controlled major said it would cut group capital spending by 21 percent and raise 7 billion euros in new asset sales.

“(The disposals will be) mainly through the dilution of our stakes in recent and material discoveries,” Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said.

The company has already flagged its readiness to sell down stakes in its giant Mozambique gas development and oilfields in Congo.

Since taking the helm in 2014, Descalzi has refocused Eni on finding more oil and gas, with a preference for projects that are lower cost and faster to market.

Last year Eni added 1.4 billion barrels of new resources, compared to a target of 0.5 billion, mainly thanks to its giant Zohr gas field discovery in Egypt.

Over the next four years Eni said it expects oil and gas production to grow by more than 3 percent per year compared to the 3.5 percent growth under the previous plan.

It aims to tap 1.6 billion barrels of oil equivalent by 2019 and bring down breakeven prices on new projects to $27 a barrel from $45 a barrel now.

Eni, which became the first Western major last year to cut its dividend, confirmed a 0.8 euro per share payout for 2016.

Oil majors around the world are slashing investments to maintain dividends in the face of weak oil prices driven by a global supply glut.