The Ghanaian government has awarded Eni and its partner Vitol rights to explore Block WB03 which is located in the medium deep waters of the prolific Tano Basin.
The block is located about 50km south-east from the FPSO John Agyekum Kufuor (JAK) which is producing oil and gas from Sankofa Field at present.
This development will allow Eni to further consolidate its presence in Ghana. Eni will serve as the operator of the licence with a 70% stake while Vitol will own the remaining 30% stake.
The joint venture will also include the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and a local registered company that will be identified at the time of finalising the contract, which is subject to approval from the authorities.
The latest award comes as an outcome of Ghana’s first international competitive bid round. In this round, five Blocks have been put on offer in water depths ranging from 100m to 4,400m. Eni owns rights to the development areas of Sankofa and Gye Nyame and also to the exploration and production area of CTP-Block 4 in Ghana’s Tano Basin.
In a separate development, Eni has started oil production from the Miztón field in Area 1, located in the Campeche Bay offshore Mexico.
Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said: “We have achieved production startup in less than two and half years after Eni started its first well in Area 1 and in less than one year from the approval of the Plan of Development.
“This is in line with the expectations of the Mexican Government to increase the country’s overall production.”
Area 1, which was acquired by the company in September 2015, is estimated to hold 2.1 billion of oil equivalent in place in the Amoca, Miztón and Tecoalli fields.
