UPDATE 3-Italy's Eni beats forecasts, sees stable capex

* Q3 profits, output beat forecasts

* 2009-2012 capex to match 50 bln euros in 2008-'11 plan

* To target small companies with synergies for acquisitions

* Gazprom to buy stakes in Eni's Russian interests (Writes through with comments from conference call)

By Svetlana Kovalyova

MILAN, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Italian oil major Eni SpA posted forecast-beating quarterly adjusted net profit and hydrocarbon output and said it would aim to keep 2009-12 capital spending at 50 billion euros ($63.89 billion) despite a sharp drop in oil prices.

Eni, the fourth-biggest west European integrated oil and gas company by market value, said on Friday its third-quarter adjusted net profit jumped 52.7 percent to 2.89 billion euros on higher output, lower taxes and lower financial charges.

The figure, which excludes inventory gains and special items and gives a measure of underlying performance, came above an average forecast of 2.46 billion euros in a Reuters poll of eight analysts.

But on a conference call, analysts grilled Eni's top executives about the group's investment plans as concerns have been growing that a sharp fall in oil prices would force energy companies to cut spending on projects.

Eni Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni told analysts the group was working on its new business plan for 2009-12 and expected capital expenditure to be close to the existing one which foresees spending 49.8 billion euros from 2008 to 2011.

"You should not expect different numbers .... Some projects could be launched or could be postponed according to market conditions. We want to have some flexibility ... on what project would go ahead," Scaroni said without giving specific details.

Eni expects to spend about 14.4 billion euros in capital expenditures in 2008, up 36 percent from 2007.

Scaroni said Eni, which has made a string of big acquisitions, would target smaller companies that offered synergies.

He said Eni would start talks with Spain's Gas Natural over Eni's 50 percent stake in a gas joint venture with Union Fenosa next year once Gas Natural clears its takeover of Fenosa.

Scaroni said Russia's gas giant Gazprom has confirmed it would exercise its option to buy Eni's 20 percent stake in Russian oil company Gazprom Neft by early April and has already earmarked about $4.5 billion for it.

Gazprom would also spend about $1 billion on gradually buying a 51 percent stake in Russian energy company Severenergia, jointly controlled by Eni and Italy's biggest power utility Enel, Scaroni said.

"They will start buying the first 5.1 percent in the next few weeks," he said.

RISING OUTPUT

Eni said hydrocarbon output rose 6.3 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, boosted by acquisitions, to 1.76 million barrels of oil per day equivalent (boepd), just above analysts' expectations of 1.75 million.

That contrasted with falling oil outputs at oil majors Exxon Mobile Corp, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Chevron Corp posted this week.

Eni raised its 2008 forecast output growth to 3 percent from a previous 2 percent, but on a lowered base-case Brent oil price of $100 a barrel from an earlier estimate of $112 a barrel.

Eni and a group of Western oil majors developing the giant Kashagan oil field signed on Friday the final agreement with the Kazakh authorities on the project.

Scaroni said the total capital expenditure for Kashagan's Phase 1, or experimental programme led by Eni, would come at about $38 billion.

Eni shares closed a turbulent day 4.34 percent higher at 18.53 euros on the back a 4 percent upturn in the DJ Stoxx index of European oil and gas sector.

For results statement, double-click on [ID:nBIA310f9] (Editing by Hans Peters, David Holmes, Richard Chang)