London — Italy's Eni announced Monday another oil discovery in Egypt's Western Desert it said raised hopes for a "new productive area." It comes weeks after a first discovery in the same West Meleiha license area north of Siwa oasis and within reach of pipelines to the small Mediterranean port of El Hamra.
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Register NowThe port near El Alamein is the main export route for Egypt's Western Desert light oil exports.
The well, like the one earlier in the year, targeted deep geological sequences in the Faghur Basin and was 4,500 meters in depth.
It will be followed with further nearby drilling "to consolidate what can result as a new productive area for Eni in Egypt," the company said.
The well encountered 35 net meters of light oil in the "Paleozoic sandstones of Dessouky Formation of Carboniferous age and in the Alam El Bueib sandstones of Cretaceous Age" and confirms the "high exploration and production potential of deep geological sequences of the Faghur Basin," it added.
The well had been "opened to production in the Dessouky sandstones and delivered 5,130 b/d of light oil (37 Degrees API), with low associated gas," Eni said.
Egypt mainly exports its Western Desert light oil production as the country's refineries, centered on the east of the country near the Red Sea, mostly process heavier crude.
US Apache corporation is the lead international producer in the Western Desert.
However, Eni said its joint venture with state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, IEOC, was producing 55,000 b/d of oil equivalent in the Western Desert. This output, primarily oil, complements its major production in the Mediterranean, where output from the Zohr field is ramping up, Eni noted.
Its total share of Egyptian oil and gas production is currently 300,000 boe/d on an equity basis, it added.
-- Nick Coleman, nick.coleman@spglobal.com
-- Edited by Maurice Geller, newsdesk@spglobal.com