Oct. 27 – “This new success further concretized our growth strategy in the Pacific Basin, where we have a consolidated presence in Indonesia, Australia and China. It reinforces Eni’s choice to sign new exploration contracts in Vietnam, Myanmar, as well as China.” Eni’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi, commented on the important gas discovery in Indonesian in the Merakes exploration prospect, located in the East Sepinggan Block, where Eni operates. The block is located off the coasts of the East Kalimantan (Borneo), 170 kilometers south of the Bontang LNG liquefaction center, and 35 kilometers from the offshore field development in Jangkrik, also operated by Eni. “The discovery – commented in a statement the group – was carried out by the Merakes 1well, which drills at a water depth of 1,372 meters and reaches a total depth of 2,640 meters. The well encountered significant gas accumulation in a clastic geological sequence of the Lower Pliocene age; it went through a hydrocarbon column of 60 meters in sands of the highest quality.” Merakes is the first exploration well drilled by Eni in the East Sepinggan Block, acquired by the company in 2012 following an international tender. Currently, it is estimated that the potential of the Merakes discovery amounts to about 36 billion cubic meters of gas, with additional potential to be assessed via a delineation campaign. “This finding is important – underscores Descalzi – because it strengthens our position as operators in Indonesia; thanks to its proximity to the Jangkrik field, now under development, we will provide additional volumes of gas to the Bontang LNG center. This again demonstrates the effectiveness of Eni’s strategic exploration, designed to operate with concrete investments to achieve the best results.”
