Eni makes new significant gas discovery offshore Sicily

San Donato Milanese (MI), 22 July 2008 - Eni has made a new, significant gas discovery in the Sicilian Strait, with the Cassiopea 1 well at a water depth of some 560 metres, about 22 km off the coast of Agrigento.s
The Cassiopea field extends across G.R14.AG and G.R13.AG exploration licences, which Eni operates with a 60% stake. Edison holds the remaining 40%. Gas reserves associated with the discovery are estimated at approximately 16 billion cubic meters.
Preliminary tests show production of around 190,000 cubic metres of gas per day. These initial encouraging results signal higher production during the normal life of the field. This discovery confirms the high potential of the Sicilian Strait deep offshore area, where the neighbouring Panda and Argo fields are also located. For the Cassiopea field, which is integrated with Panda and Argo through subsea systems, an accelerated development is being evaluated in order to create synergies with other neighbouring production sites.
The success of this exploration testifies to Eni's commitment to the search for hydrocarbons in frontier environments such as deep water, as well as the great attention paid to the exploration and development of mining resources in Italy. In 2007 Eni's oil and natural gas production in the country reached 212,000 boe/day. Eni is involved in projects in the Adriatic Sea, in the centre-southern Apennines, onshore and offshore Sicily and in the Po Valley, for an overall area of 25,991 square kilometres, with Eni's equity at 20,664 square kilometres.

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