Significant oil discovery made at the Emry Deep exploration prospect

A significant oil discovery has been made at the Emry Deep exploration prospect, located in the Meleiha Concession, in the Western Desert of Egypt, by the Italian multinational oil and gas company, Eni.

The well encountered over 250 feet of net pay in multiple good-quality sandstones of the Lower Cretaceous "Alam El Bueib" Formation. During production tests the well flowed 3,500 barrels of high quality oil per day and 1 million standard cubic feet per day of associated gas. The discovery is now estimated to range between 150 and 250 million barrels of oil in place and will require further appraisal drilling.

Eni's latest strategy includes the drilling of the well to refocus exploration activities in Egypt by targeting deeper plays in the Western Desert.

The full field development foresees an early production phase from the current well which will be followed by the drilling of other development wells in 2012 to reach a production level of approximately 10,000 barrels of oil per day in the next months.

This result confirms that the Meleiha concession still holds significant un-tapped deep exploration potential and that the recently acquired 3D seismic survey has boosted the potential of the deep Lower Cretaceous and Jurassic formations.

For more information on Egypt's oil markets, see the latest research: Egypt Oil Market

Follow us on Twitter @CandMResearch