Eni has started production from Nené Marine Field, offshore Congo, just eight months after obtaining the production permit and 16 months following the exploration discovery, according to a press release. The field is located in Marine XII Block, about 17 km (11 miles) from the coast.

The Nené Marine Field, located at a water depth of 28 m (92 ft) and close to existing plants, produces from Djeno presalt formation 2.5 km (1.6 miles) below the ground level.

The complete development of the field will take place in several stages and will include the installation of production platforms and the drilling of more than 30 wells, with a plateau of more than 140,000 boe/d.

The production of the first phase is 7,500 boe/d. It is collected from a platform installed for the purpose and is subsequently sent for treatment on the Zatchi production platform, operated by Eni, via a subsea pipeline with a length of 17 km.

During the production test Nené Marine 3 well delivered in excess of 5,000 bbl/d of oil with a density of 36°API.

In recent years Eni has discovered about 3.5 Bboe of resources in the Congolese Marine XII Block, of which 1.5 Bboe are attributable to Nené Marine Field, which offers new developments currently under further delineation activities.

Eni, through its own subsidiary Eni Congo SA, is operator of Marine XII with a 65% share stake. The other partners are New Age (25%) and Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo (10%).