Ivory Coast: Eni Drills Baleine East 1X Well And Successfully Tests Block CI-802

Italian oil and gas giant, Eni, has successfully drilled the Baleine East 1X well, the first exploration well in block CI-802 and second discovery on the Baleine structure, offshore La Côte d’Ivoire.

The excellent results have allowed increasing by around 25 per cent in the volumes of hydrocarbons in place of the Baleine Field, which is now estimated at 2.5 billion barrels of oil and 3.3 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of associated gas.

Baleine East 1X was drilled in the CI-802 block, operated by Eni (90%), together with its partner Petroci Holding (10%), using the Saipem 12000 drilling ship.

The well reached its final depth of 3,165 m measured depth in a water depth of about 1,150m.
Baleine East 1X is located about 5km east of the Baleine 1X discovery well in the adjacent block CI-101 and represents the first commercial discovery in the CI-802 block, confirming the extension of the Baleine Field.

The well, following an intense data acquisition campaign, confirmed the presence of a continuous oil column of about 48m in reservoir rocks with good properties. From the vertical borehole, a horizontal drain of 850m in length was subsequently drilled into the reservoir to perform a production test that confirmed a potential of at least 12,000bbl/d of oil and 14Mscf/d of associated gas of production from the well Baleine East 1X.

The activities in the Baleine Field will continue with the drilling of a third well which will ensure, together with the other two already drilled, the accelerated start-up of production, confirming first oil in the first half of 2023-about a year and a half from Baleine 1X discovery well and reaffirming the effectiveness of Eni’s phased development model and fast track.

The results of the Baleine East 1X well and its production performances will allow the optimization of the further full field development phases.

In addition to CI-101 and CI-802 blocks on which the Baleine Field extends, Eni owns interests in five other blocks in the Ivorian deepwater: CI-205, CI-501, CI-504, CI-401 and CI-801, all with the same partner Petroci Holding.

Source: https://energynewsafrica.com