Eni has successfully completed the production test on the Minsala Marine 1 NFW, located in the Marine XII Block offshore Congo, 35 km (22 miles) from the shoreline and 12 km (7.5 miles) from the recent Nené Marine discovery, the company said in a press release. During the production test the well delivered in natural flow more than 5,000 bbl/d of oil and 396 Mcm/d (14 MMcf/d) of gas from an opened section of 37 m (121 ft) out of the 420-m (1,378-ft) oil column identified in the discovery. The oil quality is 41˚API.

Eni preliminarily estimates the potential of Minsala Marine discovery to be about 1 Bboe in place, of which 80% is oil. The company has scheduled an appraisal plan for the discovery and has begun studying the commercial development of its significant hydrocarbons reserves.

Eni through its subsidiary Eni Congo SA is the operator of Marine XII with a 65% stake.