Eni has made a new oil discovery, in Meleiha Concession, in the Western Desert of Egypt, the company said on Dec. 23.

The discovery was achieved through the Arcadia 9 well, drilled on the Arcadia South structure, which is located 1.5 km south of the main Arcadia field already in production. The well encountered 85 feet of oil column in the Cretaceous sandstones of the Alam El Bueib 3G formation. The well has been drilled close to existing production facilities and is already tied-in to production, with a stabilized rate of 5,500 barrels per day (bbl/d) of oil.

Following the discovery, two development wells, Arcadia 10 and Arcadia 11, have been drilled back to back. The first one encountered 25 ft of oil column and the second one 80 ft, 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.

The new discovery adds 10,000 bbl/d of oil to Eni’s gross production in the Western Desert of Egypt.

Eni’s successful implementation of its infrastructure-led exploration strategy in the Western Desert through AGIBA, a joint venture between Eni and Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. (EGPC), allows a quick valorization of these new resources. 

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

Eni has been present in Egypt since 1954 where it is the country’s main producer. Eni's current equity hydrocarbon production is around 320,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.