By Toyin Akinosho
ENI announced a relatively small new oil discovery in Egypt and hooked it up within a month.
The discovery, in the Meleiha Concession in Egypt’s Western Desert, was achieved through the Arcadia- 9 well, drilled on the Arcadia South structure, which is located 1.5km south of the main Arcadia field already in production.
Arcadia -9 encountered 85 feet of oil column in the Cretaceous sandstones of the Alam El Bueib 3G formation. The well was drilled close to existing production facilities and is already tied-in to production, with a stabilized rate of 5,500 barrels of oil per day.
Following the discovery, two development wells, Arcadia 10 and Arcadia 11, have been drilled back-to-back, the Italian major says in a statement. The first one encountered 25 feet of oil column and the second one 80 feet, within the Alam El Bueib 3G formation. The three wells share the same oil-water contact in the discovered reservoir. Arcadia 11 also encountered 20 feet of oil pay in the overlying Alam El Bueib 3D formation.
“The new discovery adds 10,000 barrels of oil per day to ENI’s gross production in the Western Desert of Egypt”, the company explains.
ENI’s successful implementation of its infrastructure-led exploration strategy in the Western Desert through AGIBA, a joint venture between Eni and Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), allows a quick valorization of these new resources.
ENI, through its subsidiary IEOC, holds a 38% interest in the Meleiha concession while Lukoil holds a 12% and EGPC a 50% interest.
