Italian firm Eni and its partners have made a new oil discovery in Block 15/06, in the Kalimba exploration prospect offshore Angola.
Image: An offshore oil and gas drilling rig. Photo: courtesy of QR9iudjz0/Freeimages.com.
The partners made the oil discovery at the Kalimba-1 NFW well located in a water depth of 458m.
Drilled to a total depth of 1,901m using West Gemini drillship, the well is located at approximately 150km off the coast and 50km South East from the Armada Olombendo FPSO (East Hub).
Eni said in a statement: “The Kalimba-1 NFW proved a 23 meters net oil pay of high quality oil (33° API) contained in Upper Miocene sandstones with excellent petrophysical properties.”
The firm said that the data acquired in the well indicate a production capacity exceeding 5,000 barrels of oil per day.
According to estimates, the new discovery contains between 230 and 300 million barrels of light oil in place.
Eni said in a statement: “The discovery opens new opportunities for oil exploration in the Southern part of Block 15/06, so far considered mainly gas prone, thus creating new chances for additional potential value in the block.”
The partners will now work to appraise the updip of the discovery and commence studies to fast track its development.
Eni operates the Block 15/06 with 36.8421% stake while other license partners include Sonangol P&P with 36.8421% interest and SSI Fifteen with 26.3158% stake.
The Block 15/06 comprises two oil development projects, West hub and East Hub. The projects are currently producing about 150.000 barrels of oil per day (100%).
In 2018, Eni is planning to commence production from the Upper Miocene, in the East Hub, and commission the Subsea Boosting System for the Mpungi field.
It is also planning to begin production at the Vandumbu field which is connected to the West Hub by the end of 2018.
Eni further said: “These start-ups will add further 30,000 barrels of oil to the overall production from Block 15/06, which in 2019 will exceed 170,000 bopd gross.”