Offshore staff

MILAN, Italy – Eni says the successful results of the Perla 3 well, located in the Cardón IV Block, in the shallow water of the Gulf of Venezuelaconfirms Perla as a world-class supergiant gas discovery. Perla is one of the most significant in recent years and the largest ever in Venezuela, upgrading current estimates of gas in place to over 14 Tcf (2.5 Bbbl of oil equivalent), the company said.

Perla 3, drilled in 70 m of water, encountered 675 ft (210 m) of net pay carbonate sequence with the same hydraulic regime as the discovery well and with excellent reservoir characteristics, confirmed by the 730 ft (225 m) of bottom hole cores that have been recovered, the company says.

During the production test, the well flowed 68 million scf per day of gas and 1,350 barrels of condensate per day, highlighting the high productivity of this reservoir.

The Cardón IV Block is licensed and operated by a Joint Operating Company named Cardón IV S.A., 50% owned by Eni and 50% by Repsol. The Venezuelan state company Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) owns a 35% back-in right to be exercised in the development phase,  at which time Eni and Repsol will each hold a 32.5% interest in the project, which will then be jointly operated by the three companies.
Cardón IV plans to continue the drilling campaign with another well, Perla 4, which will follow Perla 3 to target additional potential reserves in the untested northern sector of the structure.

Eni and Repsol have already begun, together with PDVSA, to evaluate options for fast track development of Perla through an early production phase of 300 MMcfd, targeted to start-up in mid 2013. The early production phase could include utilization of the wells already drilled and the installation of light offshore platforms linked through a gas pipeline to a Central Processing Facility located onshore.

Eni is also present in Venezuela through its participation in Petrosucre, the operating company that runs the Corocoro Field (PDVSA 74%, Eni 26%) with a daily equity production of approximately 10,000 b/d of oil, and in Petrolera Güiria (PDVSA 64.25%, Eni 19.5%, Ineparia 16.25%) which operates the discovery of Punta Sur. Eni signed an agreement with PDVSA to develop Junin-5 heavy oil block, located in the Faja of Orinoco, which holds 35 Bbbl of oil in place. PDVSA will hold 60% and Eni 40% in the Junin-5 venture, which will be jointly operated.