Eni and Sonatrach announced that they have made a landmark oil and associated gas discovery in the Zemlet el Arbi concession, located in the Berkine North Basin in the Algerian desert, Eni said in a press release.

Eni elaborated that the concession is operated by a joint venture, in which it holds 49% and Sonatrach holds 51%.

The discovery has proved initially around 140 million barrels (mmbbl) of oil in place.

The new discovery was found through an exploratory well drilled on the HDLE exploration prospect, located about 15 kilometers from the processing facilities of Bir Rebaa North Field.

The HDLE-1 well is the first of five that will be drilled during an exploration campaign in the Berkine North Basin.

“During the production test, the well delivered 7000 barrels of oil per day and 5 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of associated gas. The discovery will be quickly appraised with the drilling of a second well, HDLE-2, in April 2022 to confirm the additional potential of the structure extending in the adjacent Sif Fatima 2 concession operated by an Eni-Sonatrach JV (50-50%),” the company elaborated in the statement.

Besides the appraisal program, Eni and Sonatrach will conduct studies and analyses to speed up the production phase of the new discovery through accelerated development with the start-up expected in Q3 2022.