Eni Spa on Monday said it has started gas production at the ‘most important gas development project in Italy’.
The Rome-based oil and gas company said gas has begun being produced at the Argo Cassiopea field in the Strait of Sicily.
The project is operated by Eni, who owns 60%, as part of a joint venture with Energean PLC, who owns the remaining 40%.
Eni said the gas is coming from one of the four subsea wells drilled recently. It has been transported through a 60-kilometre subsea pipeline to the Gela processing plant, before being processed and fed into Italy’s national grid.
Works had begun at Argo Cassiopea three years ago, Eni noted.
Argo Cassiopea’s reserves are estimated to be around 10 billion cubic metres of gas. Peak annual production is forecast at 1.5 billion cubic metres.
‘Argo Cassiopea plays a central role in Eni’s strategy to increase the use of domestic natural gas for energy security and as a low-emission source,’ Eni noted.
Shares in Eni were up 0.8% at €14.61 in Milan on Monday afternoon, while shares in Energean rose 0.4% to 935.00 pence in London.
Energean noted that the field is part of the portfolio which is currently being sold to an entity controlled by Carlyle International Energy Partners.
Back in June, Energean had announced a deal worth up to $945 million to sell its oil and gas portfolio in Egypt, Italy and Croatia to Carlyle. The London-based company said this was in order to focus on its gas fields in Israel and Morocco.
‘This news, while not part of the future Energean story, represents the positive involvement of Energean in yet another successful gas development,’ Energean Chief Executive Officer Mathios Rigas commented on Monday.
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