Eni Makes Noor Gas Discovery

Italian energy company Eni has found more gas off Egypt, it said March 14, with a well drilled in the Noor exploration prospect, about 50 km north of the Sinai peninsula. 

Eni will start feasibility studies to accelerate the exploitation of these new resources leveraging the synergies with existing facilities and infrastructures, after finalizing the discovery evaluation. Egyptian sources have speculated it might rival the giant Zohr field, which Eni also found and is producing.

The wildcat well was drilled by the Scarabeo-9 semi-sub in a water depth of 295 metres and reached a total depth of 5,914 m.

The Nour-1 well found 33 m of gross sandstone pay with good petrophysical properties and an estimated gas column of 90 m in the Tineh formation of Oligocene age. The well has not been tested, but an intense and accurate data acquisition has been carried out.

Eni is the operator with 40%, UK major BP has 25%; Abu Dhabi investment fund Mubadala Petroleum 20% and Tharwa Petroleum Company a 15% stake.