The agreement covers Block A offshore Ras Al Khaimah, one of the seven United Arab Emirates It was signed between Eni and the emirate’s RAK Petroleum Authority MILAN: Eni has signed an exploration and production sharing agreement with the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, the Italian oil company’s latest expansion in the Middle East. The agreement covers Block A offshore Ras Al Khaimah, one of the seven United Arab Emirates (UAE). It was signed between Eni and the emirate’s RAK Petroleum Authority, Eni said in a statement. Block A is an area of 2,412 sq km. Eni will be the block’s operator, with a 90 percent participating interest, while RAK GAS will hold the remaining 10 percent. Earlier this year, Eni pledged $3.3 billion to buy part of the world’s fourth-biggest refinery in the UAE, increasing its own refining capacity by more than a third. In January, the oil company of Sharjah, another emirate, awarded Eni concessions in three areas. That same month Eni also signed an exploration and production agreement in neighboring Oman.