Eni announces new discovery, start-up, offshore Angola

MILAN – Eni struck a new oil discovery in the Afoxé exploration prospect located in Block 15/06, offshore Angola. The discovery is estimated to contain between 170 MMbbl and 200 MMbbl of light oil in place.

The Afoxé-1 NFW well, which has led to the new oil discovery, is located in the south-east area of Block 15/06, approximately75 mi (120 km) off the coast, 31 mi (50 km) south-west from the Olombendo FPSO and 12 mi (20 km) west of the recent Kalimba-1 discovery. The well was drilled in a water depth of 2,559 ft (780 m) and reached a total depth of 5,653 ft (1,723 m).

Afoxé-1 NFW proved a 66 ft (20 m) net oil pay of high quality oil (37° API) contained in Upper Miocene sandstones with excellent petrophysical properties. The well has not been tested but an intensive data collection has been carried out that indicates a production capacity in excess of 5,000 bopd. The new nearby discoveries of Kalimba and Afoxé are now accounting together a potential of 400 Mboe to 500 Mboe of high quality oil in place and represent a new cluster that can be exploited jointly in a new development concept.

Afoxé discovery is a further confirmation of the oil exploration potential still held in southern part of Block 15/06, previously considered mainly gas prone. Eni is planning to drill up to four new exploration wells back to back in Block 15/06 during 2019.

“Eni is committed to developing this discovery leveraging its best-in-class time-to-market, whilst at the same time launching an intense exploration campaign that will fully support the Company’s mid-term organic growth in the Country”, Eni’s CEO Claudio Descalzi said.

In addition, Eni started production from the Vandumbu field in  Block 15/06, approximately 217 MI (350 km) North West of Luanda and 81 mi (130 km) West of Soyo, through West Hub N’Goma FPSO.

First oil from the Vandumbu field was achieved on late November 2018, three months ahead of schedule. This, along with the start-up of a Subsea Multiphase Boosting System (SMBS) achieved on early December, is boosting the oil production from Block 15/06 by 20,000 barrels of oil per day via West Hub’s N’Goma FPSO.  The ramp-up of Vandumbu will be completed in first-quarter 2019, to achieve a total production of about 170,000 bopd and further extending the production plateau.

The two start-ups mark a further step forward in the phased and clustered development strategy that Eni has adopted for Block 15/06, and which has allowed the start-up of eight fields since November 2014, when production from West Hub started from the Sangos field.

Eni has been present in the Angola since 1980 and currently accounts an equity production of about 150,000 boepd. Block 15/06 is developed by a Joint Venture formed by Eni (36.84%, operator), Sonangol P&P (36.84%) and SSI Fifteen Limited (26.32%).