Italian oil major ENI has announced the start of production at its Cuica project less than six months after the initial discovery. The Cuica field will be connected to Block 15/06’s Armada Olombendo Floating Production Storage and Offloading Unit and will have a daily production capacity of 10,000 barrels of oil per day.
The announcement was made at the presentation of the company’s global results for Q1 in Rome on the 30th of July 2021, in which Claudio Descalzi, CEO of ENI, indicated that through the consolidation of processes between exploration and commercialization, the company was able to start production so quickly. With an estimated 200-250-million barrels of oil in place, the Cuica project comprises ENI´s second-largest oil field within the Cabaça development area in Angola, one of the most successful markets for the Italian giant.
Additionally, Descalzi announced ENI’s partnership with Britain’s BP. The partnership will play a pivotal role in creating a robust and autonomous financial support system that will contribute significantly to business growth in Angola, leveraging on the expertise and portfolio strengths from both companies. ENI´s objective is to replicate the success stories from similar initiatives launched in Norway, whereby multiple businesses came together in an agreement to execute common goals from specific projects, and Angola has excellent potential to lead such initiatives on the African continent.
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The partnership follows ENI and BP’s Memorandum of Understanding, signed earlier this year, stipulating the start of a productive dialogue in which the two companies will unify their oil and gas exploration and development portfolios, as well as their Liquified Natural Gas projects in Angola.
ENI’s operations in Angola date back to 1980, and the oil major continues to consider Angola as a critical market for the company’s organic growth. In Q1 of 2021, ENI claimed a positive financial performance on its balance sheet, reversing significant losses registered in the same period in the year 2020.
