Eni makes oil discovery, adds production in Egypt’s Western Desert

Eni has tied-in to production a new oil discovery in the Meleiha Concession in the Western Desert of Egypt. The discovery adds 10,000 b/d of oil to the current concession production, the company said in a release Dec. 23, 2020.

The discovery was made through the Arcadia 9 well, drilled on the Arcadia South structure, 1.5 km south of the main Arcadia field already in production. The well encountered an oil column of 85 ft in Cretaceous sandstones of the Alam El Bueib 3G formation. Drilled close to existing production facilities, the well was tied-in with a stabilized rate of 5,500 b/d of oil.

Following the discovery, two development wells, Arcadia 10 and Arcadia 11, were drilled back to back. The first encountered 25 ft of oil column and the second encountered an 80 ft oil column, both 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 ft of oil pay in the overlying Alam El Bueib 3D formation.

Eni executes its exploration strategy in the Western Desert through Agiba, a joint venture with Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. (EGPC) (OGJ Online, July 29, 2020).

Eni, through its subsidiary IEOC, holds a 38% interest in the Meleiha concession. Lukoil holds a 12% and EGPC holds 50%.