Eni claims to have discovered new oil and gas at the Meleiha concession in Egypt's Western Desert, estimated to contain nearly 8,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The Italian energy company said new hydrocarbon discoveries had been connected and put into production. The company says this approach is consistent with an infrastructure-led exploration strategy that maximizes exploration opportunities near existing infrastructure.

Eni's new discoveries were made through drilling of the Nada E Deep 1X, Meleiha SE Deep1X and Emry Deep 21 wells. Well Nada E Deep 1X intersects 60m of net oil and gas formations in the Cretaceous-Jurassic Alam El Bueib and Khatatba Formations. In Well Meleiha SE Deep1X, a 30m net hydrocarbon reservoir was discovered in the Cretaceous-Jurassic sandstones of the Matruh and Khatatba Formations. By drilling the Emry Deep 21 well, Eni discovered 35m of net hydrocarbon pay in the Cretaceous sandstone of Alam El Bueib. "These results, combined with the discovery of a total of eight exploratory wells in 2021, with a 75% success rate, confirm the potential of the area," said Eni. "Other exploration activities within the concession are underway and the signs are encouraging."

The Italian oil and gas company has established a joint venture called AGIBA in the Western Desert with Egypt's state oil company, Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC). AGIBA has been successfully pursuing its near-field strategy in mature basins in the region, with the goal of maximizing production by controlling development costs and minimizing time-to-market, Eni said. Keywords: engineering construction, engineering news

In another development, Eni signed a framework agreement with the Egyptian Gas Holding Company (EGAS), which will allow to maximize gas production and LNG exports. The purpose of the agreement is to boost gas exports from Egypt to Europe, especially Italy. The parties agreed to assess Egypt's natural gas reserves by strengthening jointly operated natural gas activities and determining the scope for maximizing short-term natural gas production.Editor/XingWentao