Eni has made a new discovery on the Yopaat-1 EXP exploration well in Block 9 offshore Mexico with preliminary estimates of around 300-400 million barrels of oil equivalent (mboe) and associated gas in place.

The well, located approximately 63 km off the coast of the Cuenca Salina in the Sureste Basin, was drilled in a water depth of 525 meters and reached a total depth of 2,931 meters.

The drilling encountered about 200 meter net pay of hydrocarbon bearing sands in the Pliocene and Miocene sequences, subject to an intense subsurface data acquisition campaign.

Block 9 is operated by Eni holding 50% along with Repsol as participating interest holding the remaining 50%.

This successful result, alongside the discoveries in Eni-operated Blocks 7 and 10, confirms the value of Eni’s asset portfolio in the Sureste Basin, stated Eni in a press release on Monday.

The overall estimate of resources in place currently exceeds 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent (Bboe).

Accordingly, Eni aims to advance with studied towards a potential future “Hub” development, including the discoveries and other prospects present in the area, in synergy with the infrastructures located nearby.

Notably, Eni has been present in Mexico since 2006 and established its wholly owned subsidiary Eni Mexico S. de R. L. de C.V. in 2015. Currently, Eni is the main foreign operator in the country and holds rights in eight exploration and production blocks, of which seven as Operator, in the Sureste Basin in the Gulf of Mexico.