Italy’s oil and gas company, Eni, has been awarded an exploration license off the coast of Ghana, the company said in a statement. According to News Ghana, the new offshore license, the Cape Three Points Block 4, is located in the prolific Tano basin, and it is expected to start producing oil in 2017 and gas the following year.

This acquisition will further strengthen the company’s position in the Ghanaian offshore market, where the Italian company already operates the Cape Three Points (OCTP) located near the new license. The new block, which covers an area of 1,127 sq km in water depths ranging from 100 to 1,200 meters,  partially surrounds the OCTP block, News Ghana wrote in a related report. Overall, the offshore fields are estimated to hold 500m barrels of oil and 1.5tcf  of gas.

The Cape Three Points Block 4 license was awarded to a joint venture which involves Eni Ghana as an operator with almost 43% stake, Vitol Upstream Tano, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Woodfields Upstream Ghana, and GNPC Exploration and Production Company (Explorco).