Italian Eni made a new gas discovery in waters of Egypt’s Nile Delta

Cairo, July 2 - Neftegaz.RU. Eni, along with contractors British BP and France's Total, on July 1 has successfully drilled the 1st exploration well in the North El Hammad concession, which Eni operates.

Eni said the newly discovered prospect “Bashrush”, located 22 meters deep, will be tested for production. It is located in the North El Hammad, 12 km away from the Nooros field and around 1 km away from Baltim South West field.

In 2015, Eni was awarded a 37.5 % share in the North El-Hammad licence block, while BP holds 37.5 % and Total holds the remaining 25 %.

According to Eni, it could discover a gas column with a thickness of 152 meters within the Messinian age sandstones of the Abu Madi formation with “excellent petrophysical properties.”

“The discovery of Bashrush is further demonstration of the effectiveness of Eni's ‘incremental’ exploration strategy, aimed at selecting high value opportunities and ensuring fast development of the new discoveries through existing infrastructures,” the company said in a statement.

The 3 companies will coordinate with Egypt's petroleum authorities to begin studying the development options for the new discovery, with the aim of "fast tracking" production, the statement said.

Eni has been operating in Egypt since 1954 through its subsidiary IEOC, and its current daily production is estimated at 280,000 barrels of oil equivalent.

The Italian company discovered the giant Zohr field, the biggest in the Mediterranean, off the Egyptian coast in 2015. The discovery, which holds an estimated reservoir of 30 trillion cubic feet, has drawn the interest of investors to the country's energy sector.