Eni confirmed that its Emry Deep 1X well encountered over 250 ft (m) of net pay in multiple good-quality sandstones of the Lower Cretaceous Alam El Bueib formation. The well is in the Emry Deep exploration prospect on the Meleiha concession in the Western Desert of Egypt, 180 miles (290 km) southwest of Alexandria.

The well was drilled to a total depth of 11,900 ft (3,628 m). During production tests, the well flowed 3,500 barrels of high quality oil, 41° API, per day and one million standard cu ft per day of associated gas. The discovery is now estimated to range between 150 million and 250 million barrels of oil in place and will require further appraisal drilling.

The full field development foresees an early production phase from the current well, which will be followed by the drilling of other development wells in 2012 to reach a production level of approximately 10,000 barrels of oil per day in the next months. Production will be routed to the nearby treatment facilities of Meleiha field.

This result confirms that the Meleiha concession still holds significant un-tapped deep exploration potential and that the recently acquired 3D seismic survey has boosted the potential of the deep Lower Cretaceous and Jurassic formations.

Eni owns 56% working interest in the Meleiha concession through its affiliate International Egyptian Oil Co. (IEOC); Lukoil, 24%; and Mitsui, 20%.