Italian giant, Eni has succeeded in making a natural gas and condensates discovery in the Mahani concession, which is located onshore in the Area B concession of Sharjah in the UAE, according to the company’s statement.

The Mahani concession was awarded to Eni in the first international competitive exploration licensing round by the Petroleum Council of Sharjah.

Eni mentioned in the statement that the Mahani-1 well was drilled to a total of 14,597 feet measured depth. The well encountered a thick gas-bearing limestone reservoir in the Thamama of Lower Cretaceous age.

In addition to that the well was tested with flow rates reached up to 50 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d) of lean gas and associated condensates. Furthermore, the area’s new phase of exploration will focus on complex subthrust Jurassic and Cretaceous plays of the Arabian carbonate platform in the inner thrust zone of the Oman Fold belt and requires accurate and sophisticated seismic imaging.

It should be noted that Eni only holds a 50% stake of Area B, and sharing it with the Sharjah’s National Oil Corporation (SNOC) which owns the remaining 50% stakes while acting as a separator. The company has already started the studies to fast track the exploitation of these new resources leveraging on the synergies with the existing facilities and infrastructures while finalizing the evaluation of the discovery.

It is worth mentioning that Eni’s current exploration acreage in the UAE alone accounts for more than 12,000 square kilometers gross, comprising the onshore of Sharjah and offshore areas of Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah. Currently, Eni owns three offshore development and production concessions and two offshore exploration concessions.