Eni announces first production from the Junin-5 giant heavy oil field in Venezuela
17 March 2013
PetroJunín, joint venture formed by PDVSA (60%) and Eni (40%), has started production from the Junín-5 giant heavy oil field, located in the Faja del Orinoco—the area with the largest untapped hydrocarbon reserves in the world, according to Eni. The block is located around 550 kilometers south east of Caracas and covers an area of approximately 425 square kilometers.
The Junín-5 block, currently under development, holds 35 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) of certified oil in place and is jointly operated by two joint ventures (Empresa Mixta) formed by PDVSA (60%) and Eni (40%): PetroJunín for the development and production and PetroBicentenario for the construction and operation of a refinery in the Jose Industrial Complex, with a 350,000 barrels per day capacity.
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| Junin 5 block in the Orinoco. Source: Eni. Click to enlarge. |
With the first well on stream, the production start-up was achieved nine months ahead of the approved development plan for Phase 1 (early production phase). PDVSA and Eni plan to increase production to approximately 15,000 barrels a day by the year end and subsequently to 75,000 barrels a day by early 2015, through the drilling of approximately 180 wells.
The development of Phase 2 (full field) will bring production to a level of 240,000 barrels a day by the end of 2018. Throughout the expected 40 years of the field life, the drilling of nearly 1500 wells is planned.
The heavy crude oil of Junín-5 will be diluted and transported to PetroBicentenario’s Refinery in Jose where it will be processed and converted into oil products (diesel, naphtha and LPG) to be exported.
Deepwater Angola. Separately, Eni reported its ninth oil discovery in deepwater offshore Angola, in Block 15/06, increasing the resource base of the West Hub project. The discovery was made through the Vandumbu 1 well, located approximately 150 kilometers from the coast. The well was drilled at a water depth of 976 meters and reached a total depth of 4,107 meters.
Additional drilling has been carried out from the Vandumbu 1 well in different direction (side track), Vandumbu 1 ST, that reached a depth of 3,480 meters, finding a net oil (34° API) pay of 114 meters, contained in Lower Miocene high quality sand. As suggested by data acquired, Eni estimates that Vandumbu 1 ST has a production capacity in excess of 5,000 barrel of oil per day.
Eni is operator of Block 15/06 with 35%. The other partners of the joint venture are SSI Fifteen Limited (25%), Sonangol (15%), Total (15%), Falcon Oil Holding Angola SA (5%) and Statoil Angola Block 15/06 (5%). This discovery confirms Angola as one of the core countries in Eni’s organic growth strategy. Eni has been present in the country since 1980 with a net production of 102,000 barrels per day in 2011.
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