RIYADH: Italian energy major Eni announced a major oil and gas discovery offshore Ivory Coast, in a block it operates with Petroci Holding.
The potential of the discovery has been preliminarily estimated at between 1.5 and 2.0 billion barrels of oil and between 1.8 and 2.4 trillion cubic feet of associated natural gas, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
The discovery well was drilled on the Baleine prospect about 60 km off the coast, in about 1,200 meters of water, and reached a total depth of 3,445 meters in 30 days.
Eni is one of the largest foreign oil and gas producers in Africa and has high-value assets in Libya, Nigeria and Angola.
It is currently developing two major gas discoveries in Egypt and Mozambique.
