Oil explorer Petroceltic is to sell an 18.4 per cent stake in an Algerian production-sharing contract to Italian energy provider Enel.

In a statement to the stock exchange yesterday, Petroceltic said Enel would pay a “contingent cash consideration” of up to $75 million, (€50.6 million) which would be determined by the level of recoverable hydrocarbon reserves.

As part of the deal, the Italian company will also fund 49 per cent of the costs of the first six appraisal wells of the Isarene project, which includes the Ain Tsila gas condensate discovery.