Italian oil company Eni SpA (E) has hired Rothschild to sell most of its iNorth Sea oil assets for more than $1 billion, the U.K.'s Sunday Times newspaper reports.
The oil fields in question are producing about 20,000 barrels a day and contain 120 million barrels of reserves, the report says.
Japanese buyers are expected to show a large interest in the auction, which the report said will be one of the largest to take place in the North Sea in recent years.
The sale isn't expected to include the company's stakes in the Liverpool Bay, J Block or Elgin fields.
The report doesn't mention the sources behind the information.
Eni wasn't immediately available for comment Sunday.