Western Europe: Italy

WESTERN EUROPE

Italy

Almost entirely dependent on imports for its energy needs, Italy continued the effort to increase its domestic production in 2000. Italy currently is the third largest gas market in Europe, behind Germany and the United Kingdom.

Exploration. Eni’s Agip division discovered a new field north of Ortona on the Abruzzo coast. The Miglianico 1 onshore well hit a 300-ft pay zone at 15,700 ft, and preliminary data indicate flows of 1,000 bpd of high-quality oil (34°API) and 1 MMcfgd, with reserves of 40 to 45 MMbbl. Eni recently acquired four onshore exploration licenses and 10 production concessions (one offshore) from TotalFinaElf. Eni’s Agip division employed Saipem 10000 for deepwater exploration of the northern area of the Aquila oil field. Seismic activity totaled 201 mi of 2-D data and 157 sq mi of 3-D data. This year, the government expects 3,039 mi of 2-D projects and 39 sq mi of 3-D data.

Drilling. A 25% increase in wells drilled (to 55) and a 44% increase in offshore drilling (to 26 wells) resulted in a 12% increase in total footage drilled (to 333,000 ft, almost half of which was offshore). In addition, Eni teamed up with Schlumberger to drill the world’s deepest horizontal oil well in the Villafortuna-Trecate field (total depth of 21,066 ft at an angle of 89.6°).

In the Val d’Agri oil fields area of Italy’s Southern Apennines, Eni and Enterprise Oil have been drilling development wells at Cerro Falcone and Monte Alpi fields. The Cerro Falcone 3 horizontal completion, pictured here, tested 7,000 bopd last December. When the Val d’Agri oil center expansion is finished, it will accommodate additional output from these fields and others. (Photo courtesy of Enterprise Oil)

Eni operates a joint venture with Britain’s Enterprise to develop 600 MMboe at Val d’Agri, in the southern Apennine region, perhaps Europe’s most promising onshore development area. Output of 11,000 bpd from the fields began in 2000, but limited transport capacity will prevent production reaching its target capacity of over 100,000 bpd until a new pipeline is completed. Construction on the 93-mile (150-kilometer), 170,000-bopd pipeline connecting the fields to the Taranto refinery met unanticipated delays due to new environmental legislation. The pipeline now is slated to begin operations later this year. At the end of 2000, 22 of 42 wells had been drilled at Val d’Agri. The first portion of the expansion of the oil processing center was nearing completion at mid-2001. Capacity will be 64,000 bopd. Eni aims to have the fields producing at peak capacity in 2002.

In the Tempa Rossa field, neighboring the Val d’Agri fields, Eni is developing over 400 MMboe in a joint venture with Enterprise (25%), TotalFinaElf (25%) and ExxonMobil (25%). Tempa Rossa has much heavier crude than Val d’Agri, and Eni reportedly plans to drill only seven wells at Tempa Rossa (as opposed to 42 at Val d’Agri). Eni hopes to be producing 44,000 bpd by 2003.

Production. Italy still saw a decline of almost 9% in oil production (to 91,521 bpd) and almost 5% in natural gas output (to 1.62 Bcfgd). Italy’s proven oil reserves also declined 5.9%, to 580 MMbbl. Proven natural gas reserves fell 4.6% to 7,021 Bcf.