Italy's Eni Company announced a new oil discovery in West Meleiha in the Western Desert region, approximately 300km west of Alexandria. The West Meleiha well was drilled at a depth of 4,175 metres, where high quality oil was discovered. The well was put on a production rate of 2,100 barrels of oil per day, according to the company's statement Tuesday. The new discovery will give rise to further exploratory drilling and development wells, which will allow a production rate of 8,000 barrels of oil per day by the end of 2015, the statement read. Eni follows up on its new strategy to redirect attention to research and exploration activities in Egypt, which still have great opportunities in areas where productivity and infrastructure are found. Drilling in the Meleiha region is a part of Eni's exploratory efforts to detect oil in deep geological areas in the Western Desert. According to the statement, the West Meleiha well discovery is the third after the Rosa North 1X discovery followed the discovery of the Emry Deep field in May 2012. These discoveries emphasise the increasing petroleum geological potential deeper in the Meleiha field. Through its Ieoc Company in Egypt, Eni owns 76% of production activities in the Meleiha field, while the Russia's Lukoil Company owns 24%, the statement said. Agiba Petroleum Company is the joint business enterprise between the Egyptian General Petroleum Authority (EGPC) and Eni. Agiba Petroleum Company has doubled its production over the last three years due research and exploration works in the deeper layers of Western Desert. Its production increased to 60,000 barrels of oil per day from six different areas.
