Eni makes oil discovery in Egyptian Western Desert

Italian exploration and production firm Eni has made an oil discovery at a new well in the South West Meleiha concession of the Egyptian Western Desert.

The SWM-A-6X well, drilled in the Faghur basin, is located about 130km north of the Siwa Oasis.

It has been drilled to a depth of 15,800ft and hit 130ft of net oil pay in the Dessouky Formation’s Paleozoic sandstones.

The well already produces around 5,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd).

According to Eni, the SWM-A-6X well was drilled near existing production facilities. It is already connected to the production grid.

Eni stated: “Eni is successfully implementing its near-field exploration strategy in the Egyptian Western Desert through AGIBA, a joint venture with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) quickly turning on production of the newly discovered resources.”

Production in the South West Meleiha licence started in 2019. It now produces in excess of 12,000boepd.

Eni owns a 100% stake in the South West Meleiha licence through its subsidiary, International Egyptian Oil Company (IEOC).

Eni has been operating since 1954 in Egypt and maintains a daily capacity for 300,000boepd.

In July 2018, Eni made a second light oil discovery in the Faghur Basin in the Egyptian Western Desert.