Eni has made a new discovery of oil and gas in the West Melehia deep exploration prospect, located in the Melehia license in the Western Desert of Egypt west of Alexandria, the company said in a press release.

The exploration well, which allowed the discovery of Melehia West Deep 1X, was drilled to a depth of 4,175 m (13,700 ft), meeting a 20-m (66-ft) net mineralized accumulation of light oil in the Lower Cretaceous age of the Alam El Bueib Formation. The well also encountered a significant mineralized accumulation of gas and condensates in the Upper Jurassic age in the Safa Formation.

The well began production with an initial flow of 2,100 bbl/d of oil (40°API) intended for the Melehia Field infrastructure treatment.

The discovery will be rapidly followed by the drilling of other delineation and development wells, which should result in an estimated production of about 8,000 bbl/d by the end of 2015.

Eni, through its subsidiary International Egyptian Oil Company (IEOC), holds a 76% stake in Melehia’s license. Lukoil is the other partner with a 24% stake. The operator is Agiba, which is equally held by IEOC and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corp.