Eni (NYSE: E) has made an oil discovery at the Afoxé exploration prospect located in Block 15/06 offshore Angola, the company said Dec. 10. The discovery is estimated to contain between 170 million barrels (MMbbl) and 200 MMbbl of light oil in place.

The Afoxé-1 NFW well, which struck oil, is located in the southeast area of Block 15/06, about 50 km (31 miles) southwest of the Olombendo FPSO and 20 km (12 miles) west of the recent Kalimba-1 discovery. The well was drilled in a water depth of 780 m (2,559 ft) and reached a total depth of 1,723 m (5,652 ft).

Afoxé-1 NFW proved a 20 m (65 ft) 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 barrels per day of oil. The new nearby discoveries of Kalimba and Afoxé are now accounting together a potential of 400 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) to 500 MMboe of high quality oil in place and represent a new cluster that can be exploited jointly in a new development concept.

The Afoxé discovery is 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.

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

Offshore