Eni targets more exploration in the Nile Delta off Egypt as it wins new lease extensions from the authorities covering assets located in the so-called Great Nooros Area. The Italian giant has secured a 10-year extension to the Abu Madi West development lease that hosts the producing Nooros gas field, as well as a permit for further exploration on the El Qar'a exploration lease, under a new Nile Delta concession agreement disclosed on Tuesday. Eni has been also granted a five-year extension to the onshore Ras Qattara concession and relevant development lease that will allow it to carry out further exploration work at the Zarif and Faras fields to unlock reserves, as well as in the wider Western Desert basin. The company said the Great Nooros extension "strengthens Eni's gas portfolio while confirming the success of Eni's strategy of near-field exploration that has revitalised production in the Nile Delta area", where the Nooros field is currently producing 32 million cubic feet per day of gas. Eni subsidiary IEOC holds a 75 percent stake in the Nile Delta tract that it operates under the Petrobel joint venture with state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), with BP on the remaining 25 percent. Ras Qattara is operated by Eni, with a 75 percent stake, under its Agiba joint venture with EGPC, with partner INA on 25 percent. "The Ras Qattara extension will reinforce Agiba-operated oil production in the Western Desert area," Eni said in a statement. The company is meanwhile also targeting fresh exploration wells on the newly awarded Nour licence off Egypt. Source: Upstream
