Italian company Eni, which specializes in exploration and energy, on Wednesday announced the discovery of a new oil well in Egypt’s Western Desert.
The discovery will increase the production capacity in the Maliha concession area by 10,000 barrels of oil per day.
The company said the oil well was in the Maliha concession and was investigated through the Arcadia 9 exploration well at the main southern Arcadia base, located 1.5 kilometers south of the main Arcadia field under production.
Eni added that two wells were drilled for development after the discovery: Arcadia 10 and Arcadia 11. The two wells share the same connection between oil and water in the discovered reservoir, Arcadia 9.
The Maliha concession is distributed among the IEOC subsidiary of Eni with a 38 percent stake, a 12 percent stake for Lukoil and 50 percent for the General Petroleum Corporation.
Eni is classified as a major producer of oil and gas in Egypt, with a current production rate of hydrocarbons around 320,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla recently described Eni as a strategic partner for Egypt, saying cooperation between the two countries was set to grow and that there were many upcoming projects with Eni.
He added that Italy was a very important partner to Egypt and was the European gateway to Egyptian gas.
Earlier this month Eni reached agreements with its partners to restart the LNG terminal in Damietta, Egypt, through an amicable settlement of the pending disputes between Union Fenosa Gas and the Spanish Egyptian Gas Company, paving the way for the operation of the Damietta natural gas plant by the first quarter of 2021.
Last summer, the company announced an oil discovery represented in the field and began production in mid-2019. Its total capacity is currently 12,000 barrels of oil per day.
Eni has been operating in Egypt since 1954.