Eni announces successful appraisal and testing of Sankofa, offshore Ghana

San Donato Milanese, 12 April 2011 - Eni announces the successful appraisal and testing of the Sankofa discovery in the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) licence, offshore Ghana.

The Sankofa-2 well was drilled in 864 meters water depth at a distance of about 55 km from the coast and successfully appraised the Sankofa discovery. The well was tested and delivered a (constrained) rate of approximately 29,5 mmscfd of high quality gas and 1000 boepd of 52° API condensate. The appraisal well confirmed the presence of 35m net gas and condensate sands of the Cretaceous age with excellent reservoir characteristics. A six  meter oil leg, which will be the object of further studies, was also encountered.

Initial evaluations indicate that the appraisal well has significantly increased the preliminary estimate of gas in place at the discovery, confirming Sankofa’s potential to become the first development of non-associated gas from the Ghana offshore.

The Sankofa well results provide evidence of the success of the exploration activities carried out by the Eni-led consortium, in full compliance with safety and environmental protection standards.

Eni Ghana Exploration and Production Limited is the operator of the OCTP license with a 47.22% interest, Vitol Upstream Ghana Limited 37.78% and state company Ghana National Petroleum Corporation GNPC (15.00%). GNPC will have a back in option for an additional 5%.

Eni continues to work with its partners and the Republic of Ghana to advance its exploration and appraisal programs, as well as contribute to the development of a gas infrastructure in the country.

Eni has been present in Sub-Saharan Africa since the early 1960s and is currently operating in Angola, Nigeria, Togo, Ghana, Republic of Congo, Gabon and Mozambique. Eni's operated production in the area is around 450,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.