A new exploration well as part of the Meleiha Concession has discovered new oil resources in Egypt’s Western Desert area, Italian energy giant Eni revealed on Wednesday.
In a press statement, the company said that the discovery was achieved through the Arcadia 9 well, drilled on the Arcadia South structure, which is located 1.5 km south of the main Arcadia field already in production.
The well encountered an oil column of 85 feet in the Cretaceous sandstones of the Alam El Bueib 3G formation. The well has been drilled close to existing production facilities, and is already tied-in to production, with a stabilised 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 first one encountered an oil column of 25 feet, with the second one featuring an oil column of 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 its Western Desert work.
The Italian company’s successful implementation of its infrastructure-led exploration strategy in the Western Desert through Agiba Petroleum Company, a joint venture between Eni and Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), allows a quick valorisation 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.
The Italian company has been present in Egypt since 1954 and is the country’s main producer. Eni’s current equity hydrocarbon production stands at around 320,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
