Chibisi Ohakah, Abuja
Eni has announced that production from South West Meleiha Development Lease, located in the Egyptian Western Desert, some 130 Km North of the oasis of Siwa, has started. The current production, delivered through two oil producer wells, is around 5.000 barrel of oil per day (BOPD) and is expected to reach 7.000 BOPD within September 2019, the company said in a statement yesterday.
The oil is transported and treated at the Meleiha Plant facilities operated by AGIBA, a company equally held by IEOC and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC). South West Meleiha oil discoveries have been made in 2018, while other exploration wells are now planned to be drilled on the nearby prospects within the exploration area.
Eni, through its subsidiary IEOC, holds a 50% interest in South West Meleiha while EGPC holds the remaining 50%. AGIBA is the operator. AGIBA, which is operator company on behalf of Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Eni, also recently made two additional near field oil discoveries in the Meleiha development lease in Western Desert, specifically on the Basma and Shemy prospects. On Basma, two wells have been successfully drilled and are already in production from the Jurassic Khatabta formation, while on Shemy prospect a well is currently under testing and targeting oil from the Matruh sands.
Moreover, in the Meleiha development lease AGIBA has successfully continued a deepening campaign on existing shallow wells targeting the Alam El Bueib Cretaceous formation. These deepened producers are now contributing with about 6.000 BOPD to the Meleiha production.
All these new actions in the Western Desert are contributing in excess of 15.000 BOPD to the AGIBA production. In the Nile Delta area, within the new El Qar’a onshore exploration lease granted in 2018, Eni has successfully drilled and tested the El Qar’a-NE1 well. This well found gas in the sandstones of the Abu Madi formation. During the clean-up, the well delivered 17 MMscfd and associated condensates. The well will be tied-in to existing facilities and the production will be delivered to the Abu Madi gas plant operated by Petrobel (Ieoc 50% – EGPC 50%) upon the granting of the development lease.
Eni through its subsidiary IEOC holds a 37.50% interest in El Qar’a exploration lease, while BP a 12.5% interest and EGPC a 50% interest. Petrobel is the operator of the lease on behalf of EGPC and Eni.
Finally, in the Gulf of Suez, in the Abu Rudeis Sidri development lease (equally held by IEOC –and EGPC), IEOC, through Petrobel, has successfully drilled a new structure on the Sidri South exploration prospect which resulted in an oil discovery. The new discovery has been made through the Sidri-23 well in pre-Miocene sequences.
The discovery may hold up to 200 MMbbl of oil in place. The well has been completed and brought on stream through production facilities available in the area. Petrobel has a plan to develop the new discovery with about 10 wells that will be drilled in the near future.
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