Eni announces a new oil discovery in the Kalimba exploration prospect, located in the 15 / 06 Block in the deep waters of the Angolan offshore. The new discovery is estimated to contain between the 230 and 300 million barrels of oil in place.
The Kalimba-1 NFW exploration well is located about 150 km from the coast and 50 Km south-east from FPSO Armada Olombendo (East Hub). The well was drilled by the West Gemini drilling vessel in a water depth of 458 meters, reaching a total depth of 1.901 meters.
Kalimba-1 NFW met a net thickness of 23 m of Miocene age sandstone with excellent petrochemical properties mineralized to high quality light oil (33 ° API). In the well, an intense data acquisition campaign was carried out which indicated a production capacity superior to 5.000 barrels of oil.
The discovery opens up new opportunities for oil exploration in the southern part of the 15 / 06 Block, considered so far primarily as a gas-induced area, and fosters further possibilities for value creation.
The Joint Venture of Block 15/06, formed by Eni (operator, 36,8421%), Sonangol P&P (36.8421%) and SSI Fifteen Limited (26.3158%), will plan the delineation activities of the updip discovery and the studies to accelerate the its development.
Angola is a key country for the organic growth strategy of Eni, which has been present in the country since 1980 and where it now has an equity production of 155.000 barrels of oil equivalent day. In the 15 / 06 Block the two development projects, West Hub and East Hub, currently produce 150.000 barrels days of oil (100%). Eni is also operator of the Cabinda Norte block in Angola onshore.
The next start-ups in the 15 / 06 Block this year will be the Upper Miocene, in the East Hub, and the Subsea Boosting System for the Mpungi field. In addition, the Vandumbu field, which will be connected to the West Hub, will enter production at the end of the 2018, ahead of schedule. These new start-ups will add additional 30.000 barrels to the overall production of the 15 / 06 Block, which in the 2019 will exceed the 170,000 barrels of oil per day.