Eni, has made a massive natural gas discovery at the Mamba North 1 prospect, in Area 4 offshore Mozambique, discovering a mineral potential of 7.5 Tcf of gas-in-place.

The operator said that this new discovery, in addition to the Mamba South find made in October 2011, further increases the potential of the Mamba complex in Area 4. It is estimated that the total volume of gas-in-place is 30 Tcf (850 billion cubic meters).

The well encountered 610 feet (186 meters) of gas-bearing rock. A production test was conducted, producing about 1 MMcm/d of natural gas and minor volumes of condensate during testing, but flow rates were constrained by surface facilities. Eni estimates output per well could reach more than 4 MMcm/d in a final production completion configuration.

Mamba North lies 14 miles (23 kilometers) north of Mamba South in water depths of 5,545 feet (1,690 meters) about 28 miles (45 kilometers) off the Capo Delgado coast.

Additionally, Eni announced plans to drill another five wells in 2012 on nearby structures in order to assess the upside potential of the Mamba Complex. Since several "major" discoveries have been made, plans are underway to monetize them through an LNG export terminal.

ENI (operator, 70 percent) is partnered with Galp Energia (10 percent), KOGAS (10 percent), and ENH (10 percent, held through the exploration phase) on Area 4.

Tags: Eni Norge AS