Italian oil and gas giant, Eni, has announced a new crude oil discovery in the Meleiha Concession in the Western Desert of Egypt.

The discovery was achieved through the Arcadia 9 well, drilled on the Arcadia South structure. The well is located 1.5 kilometres south of the main Arcadia field which is 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 of oil per day. The discovery adds 10,000 barrels of oil per day to Eni’s gross production in the Western Desert of Egypt.

Following the discovery, two development wells, Arcadia 10 and Arcadia 11 have been drilled back-to-back. The first one encountered 25 feet of oil column and the second one 80 feet, 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 feet of oil pay in the overlying Alam El Bueib 3D formation.

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

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