Eni and Sonatrach announce a significant oil and associated gas discovery in the Zemlet el Arbi concession, in the North Berkine basin in Algeria
Eni and Sonatrach announce an important oil and associated gas discovery in the Zemlet el Arbi concession, in the North Berkine basin in the Algerian desert. The concession is operated by the Joint Venture between Eni (49%) and Sonatrach (51%). Preliminary resource estimates for this new discovery amount to approximately 140 million barrels of oil in place.
The exploration well that led to the discovery was drilled on the HDLE exploration prospect, located 15 km from the Bir Rebaa Nord (BRN) treatment center. HDLE-1 discovered light oil in the Triassic arenaceous levels of the Tagi formation encountering 26 meters of mineralized net thickness with excellent petrophysical properties. During the production test, the well delivered 7000 barrels / day of oil and 140.000 cubic meters / day of associated gas. The HDLE-1 well is the first well of the new exploration campaign which involves the drilling of 5 wells in the North Berkine concessions.
The discovery will be the subject of an accelerated delineation program involving the drilling of a second well, HDLE-2, starting in April 2022 to test the additional potential of the facility which also extends into the adjacent concession of Sif Fatima 2, also operated by Eni (50%) in a JV with Sonatrach (50%).
Parallel to the delineation phase, Sonatrach and Eni will launch studies and analyzes to accelerate the production phase, through a fast-track development expected to start in the third quarter of 2022.
With this discovery, Eni and Sonatrach continue to successfully pursue their near field and infrastructure-led exploration strategy, allowing for a rapid exploitation of these resources.
Eni has been present in Algeria since 1981 where it is the operator of various mining permits. With an equity production of 95.000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, Eni is the most important international company operating in the country.