Eni has signed in Quito with the Government of Ecuador a new service contract for the Villano oil field in Block 10. The Block is located in the Oriente Basin, in the Eastern part of Ecuador, some 260 km South East of Quito.

The new contract allows Eni to successfully continue its operations in Ecuador confirming the extension of the contract until 2023, with approximately 50 million barrels of oil still to be recovered. It is based on a flat fee which covers the costs of production and new investment, according to the new hydrocarbon law.

In addition, under the new agreement the area of Block 10 will be expanded to include a new prospective exploration area which includes the Oglan oil discovery, located 7 km from the Villano processing facility, with estimated oil in place of 300 million barrels of oil.

The current oil production from Villano is approximately 18,000 bopd. Eni has been operating the Villano field under a service contract with the state oil company Petroecuador since 2000, through its subsidiary Agip Oil Ecuador B.V.

This year Eni proudly celebrated ten years of successful and environmentally clean operations (producing over 110 million barrels of oil) in Ecuador as well as excellent relationships with the Indigenous Communities located within the area of pertinence of the Villano field. Eni has been present in Ecuador since 1988. In 2009, production in the country averaged 14,000 bopd.

Tags: Eni Norge AS