Eni starts up onshore oil production from Arcadia field in Egypt

Eni has started oil production from the new Arcadia field, in the Western Desert of Egypt, only 45 days after its discovery.
The Arcadia 1X well, located in the historical Meleiha Concession, has been put into production from the “Alam El Bueib‘ formation (Lower Cretaceous) thanks to synergies with the nearby operated facilities of Meleiha. Additional gas potential has been also proved by testing the well in the deeper Katatba formation (Jurassic).
Eni has owned a 56% participating interest in the Meleiha concession since 1987, through its fully owned affiliate Ieoc, with the remainder owned by Lukoil and Mitsui with 24% and 20%, respectively. Agiba, a joint operating company owned equally by Ieoc and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), is the operator of the Arcadia project.
The short time to market of this field is a result of Eni’s strategy to focus on fast track development of conventional and synergic assets. To fully develop the new discovery, four more wells will be drilled in 2010 and 2011, to produce up to approximately 3000 boe/day.
The drilling of the Arcadia 1X well is part of Eni’s strategy to refocus exploration activities in Egypt by targeting deeper layers in the Western Desert as well as better appraising already discovered volumes. To this end, a new 3-D seismic survey over the Melehia Concession has started, targeting deep Lower Cretaceous and Jurassic formations, which still bear significant un-exploited exploration potential in the area.
In Egypt, Eni is the leading producer with an equity production of 230 kboed in 2009. In the Western Desert of Egypt, Eni produces more than 37,000 bopd from 6 different Development Leases, all operated by Agiba.