Italian oil major Eni has made new oil and gas discoveries in the Meleiha concessions in Egypt’s Western Desert, for approximately 8,500 barrels per day of oil equivalent.

Eni said that these discoveries have already been connected and tied into production, in line with the infrastructure-led exploration strategy, allowing to maximize exploration opportunities nearby existing infrastructures.

The results were obtained through Nada E Deep 1X well, which encountered 195 feet of net hydrocarbon pay in the Cretaceous-Jurassic Alam El Bueib and Khatatba formations, Meleiha SE Deep 1X well, which found 100 feet of net hydrocarbon pay in the Cretaceous-Jurassic sands of the Matruh and Khatatba formations, and Emry Deep 21 well, which encountered 115 feet of net hydrocarbon pay in the massive Cretaceous sandstones of Alam El Bueib.

These results, added to the discoveries of 2021 for a total of 8 exploration wells, give a 75 percent of success rate, confirming the potential of the area. Other exploration activities in the concession are ongoing with promising indications.

With these discoveries, Eni, through AGIBA – a joint venture between Eni and Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, continues to successfully pursue its near field strategy in the mature basin of the Western Desert, aimed at maximizing production by containing development costs and minimizing time to market.

Eni also renewed its commitment to the Western Desert with the recent acquisition of two exploration blocks with the planning in 2022 of a new high-resolution 3D seismic survey in the Meleiha concession, also aimed at investigating the gas potential of the area, in line with the energy transition goals.

This week, Eni and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company agreed to maximize Egypt’s gas production and LNG exports. Eni said that the agreement aims to promote Egyptian gas export to Europe, and specifically to Italy, in the context of the transition to a low carbon economy.

The parties agreed to valorize Egyptian gas reserves by increasing jointly operated gas activities and identifying opportunities to maximize short-term gas production. Eni will also optimize the exploration campaigns in existing blocks and newly acquired acreage in the Nile Delta, Eastern Mediterranean, and Western Desert regions.

This agreement, together with the one signed for the restart of Damietta liquefaction plant last year, will provide LNG cargoes for overall volumes of up to 106 billion cubic feet in 2022 for Eni’s LNG portfolio bound to Europe and Italy.

Eni has been present in Egypt since 1954, where it operates through the subsidiary IEOC. The company is currently the leading producer in the country with an equity production of around 360,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

In line with the net-zero strategy by 2050, Eni is engaged in a series of initiatives aimed at decarbonizing the Egyptian energy sector, including the development of CCS plants, renewable energy plants, agro-feedstock for biorefining, and others.