Italian energy group Eni SpA is looking to sell assets in Pakistan as part of moves to refocus its oil and gas portfolio following a strategic re-shake this year, sources close to the matter said.

The company is sounding out potential buyers for a series of oil and gas assets in the country and could have a deal in place before the end of the first quarter, one of the sources said.

"It's a small country for Eni in the sense it has little business there and so it makes sense to rethink operations," a second source said.

Eni declined to comment.

The assets Eni plans to sell include its main producing permits at Bhit, Badhra and Kadanwari, in Sindh province, but will probably exclude its solar power business in the area, one of the sources said.

Eni is currently reviewing its exploration and production portfolio and leaving or downsizing operations in countries where it has a small presence with few opportunities to grow or where development is too long and complicated.

It is working to sell assets in Australia where it aims to keep control of its solar business as it looks to meet aggressive renewable energy targets.

Earlier this year Eni unveiled one of the most ambitious clean-up drives in the oil industry when it pledged to slash its greenhouse gas emissions by 80%.

The move by Eni, which supplied 3 million cubic meters of natural gas a day to Pakistan in 2018, underlines the chronic problems facing the country, where a deep energy crisis has hampered economic development for years.