The Nigerian Agip Oil Company, a subsidiary of Italian oil major Eni, has announced that the Zabazaba and Etan deep water project on Oil Prospecting License 245, will generate $8b for the federal government of Nigeria, Ecofin Agency informed.

The company’s Managing Director, Massimo Insulla, said the promoters of the deepwater project are keen to take the final investment decision and determined to make it profitable despite the sustained low price of crude oil, reported Punch. He added that the company had been engaging local and international contractors in the past four months for the project.

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board’s (NCDMB) Executive Secretary, Simbi Wabote, said that the Board would support the implementation of the project through timely review of contract tenders and the execution of essential approvals bearing in mind the urgent need to boost the country’s crude oil production capacity and increase revenue for the economy.

The Etan and Zabazaba fields were discovered in 2005 and 2006 respectively. The Field Development Plan requires the conversion of a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) to a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO). The two fields are in water depths of between 1,500 and 2,000 meters.