Italian oil and gas company Eni said Thursday it had made a gas discovery at the well XF-002, being drilled the offshore Block 2 in Abu Dhabi (UAE) in 115 ft of water depth, Eni's first in the block.
"The well interim results indicate a range of 1.5-2 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of raw gas in place in multiple good quality reservoirs of the Jurassic exploration targets. The drilling operations will continue to reach the deeper exploration targets of the Khuff and Pre-Khuff Formations. After completing the well drilling in Q2 2022, the size of the well final findings will be assessed," Eni said.
Eni holds a 70% share in and operates Offshore Block 2, which was granted to Eni in January 2019 after ADNOC held its first-ever competitive bid round for exploration blocks. The remaining 30% is held by PTTEP.
ADNOC said that the gas discovery was the first from Abu Dhabi’s offshore exploration concessions.
Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, said: “The discovery of material natural gas resources in Offshore Block 2 underscores how ADNOC’s expanded approach to strategic partnerships is enabling us to accelerate the exploration and development of Abu Dhabi’s untapped hydrocarbon resources and create long-term value for the UAE, in line with the Leadership’s wise directives.
"We congratulate our valued partners, Eni and PTTEP, on this achievement and we look forward to continuing to work with all our strategic partners to sustainably unlock Abu Dhabi’s hydrocarbon resources and stay ahead of the world’s growing demand for lower-carbon energy.”
Offshore Block 2 covers an area of 4,033 square kilometers northwest of Abu Dhabi.
ADNOC said that the discovery was enabled by new insights from the world’s largest combined onshore and offshore three-dimensional (3D) mega seismic survey currently underway in Abu Dhabi.
Yaser Saeed Almazrouei, ADNOC Upstream Executive Director, said: “The positive interim results recorded by our partners, Eni and PTTEP, in the exploration of Offshore Block 2 follows the recent significant discovery in Onshore Block 4, highlighting the continued success of ADNOC’s accelerated exploration and development program. Both discoveries leveraged insights from ADNOC’s ongoing 3D mega seismic survey, underpinning the important role the survey is playing for us and our strategic partners as it utilizes state-of-the-art technologies to help identify new hydrocarbon resources across Abu Dhabi.”