Eni Accelerates Buybacks as Q3 Profit Beats Forecasts

Italian energy giant Eni (NYSE: E) is raising its share repurchase program after reporting consensus-beating profits for the third quarter amid higher upstream production and portfolio upgrading. Eni reported on Friday a net profit of $1.37 billion (1.27 billion euros) for the third quarter, down by 30% from a year earlier, but ahead of a company-compiled analyst consensus of $1.17 billion (1.08 billion euros). Oil and gas production rose by 2% year-over-year to average 1.661 million barrels per day (bpd) in the third quarter, amid continuing production…