Mexico City — Italy’s Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (ENI) has announced a new crude oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico.
The discovery was made at the Yatzil exploration prospect in Block 7, located in shallow waters of the Salina Basin, the company said in a statement.
“According to preliminary estimates, the new discovery may contain around 200 million barrels of oil in place,” the company headed by Claudio Descalzi said.
Yatzil-1 EXP is the second commitment well in Block 7 and the eighth successful well drilled by ENI in the southeastern basin, located approximately 65 kilometers offshore with a distance of approximately 30 kilometers from other discoveries.
The well was drilled by the Valaris DPS5 semisubmersible rig in water depths of 284 meters, reaching a maximum depth of 2,441 meters.
A discovery signifies the addition of reserves attributable to the drilling of exploratory wells testing oil and gas producing formations.
“Yatzil-1 EXP encountered more than 40 meters of net productive sands with good quality oil in the Upper Miocene sequences,” the company said.
The result follows the Saasken and Sayulita discoveries in Block 10 and may contribute to the potential development of a group of several prospects located nearby.
The joint-venture conglomerate operating Block 7 is composed of Eni, with a 45% interest, Capricornio (30%) and Citla Energy (25%).
ENI produces 25,800 barrels of crude oil and 23 million cubic feet of gas per day in the offshore Mizton and Amoca fields in Block 1.
The company faced critical problems in the Mizton field due to the lack of pressure in the reservoir and the delay of a vessel to stabilize it, a situation that led to criticism by Mexico’s hydrocarbons commission (CNH) and possible damage to the field.
ENI holds rights in eight exploration and production blocks -six as operator- all located in the southeastern basin in the Gulf of Mexico.