The joint venture is expected to be the next consortium in moving oil exploration projects in Guyana to the development phase if discoveries are declared commercial.
Energean made a new 8 Bcm natural gas discovery off the coast of Israel in its Athena exploration well. The company previously thought the discovery would yield 21 Bcm, however.
The three new discoveries offshore Guyana increases Exxon Mobil’s estimate of the recoverable resource for the Stabroek Block to nearly 11 billion oil-equivalent barrels.
Eni also signed a deal earlier on April 13 to increase gas production in Egypt and boost LNG supplies to Europe as the continent tries to cut its reliance on Russian gas amid the war in Ukraine.
The U.S. independent has started production from the Khaleesi-Mormont and Samurai fields.
Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher described the Pavo-1 discovery as a “great result” that could add further material value to the project through a potential low-cost tie-back to the proposed Dorado development plan.
Eni and Sonatrach said that the reservoir in the Zemlet el Arbi concession in the Algerian desert, is estimated to hold about 140 million barrels of crude.
The discovery was more than 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent, the second major offshore discovery in a month after Shell also announced a significant find, sources say.
The Krabdagu-1 well follows previous discoveries made by TotalEnergies and APA Corp. in the Guyana - Suriname Basin including Maka, Sapakara, Kwaskwasi and Keskesi.
The oil discovery by Dragon Oil in the Gulf of Suez is one of the largest in the area in the past 20 years, the Egyptian petroleum ministry said.