Italian energy company Eni has discovered oil in the Yatzil exploration prospect in Block 7, located in the mid-deep water of the Cuenca Salina in the Sureste Basin in the Gulf of Mexico offshore Mexico. According to preliminary estimates, the new finding may contain around 200m barrels of oil (MBoe) in place.
Yatzil-1 EXP is the second commitment well of Block 7 and the eighth successful one drilled by Eni in the Sureste Basin. It is located approximately 65 kilometres off the coast, and 25 to 30 km away from other discoveries.
The well was drilled by the Valaris DPS5 semisubmersible rig (pictured) in a water depth of 284 metres and reached a total depth of 2,441 metres. Yatzil-1 EXP found in excess of 40 metres of net pay sands with good quality oil in the Upper Miocene sequences with excellent petrophysical properties confirmed by an extensive subsurface data collection.
The successful result comes after the Saasken and Sayulita discoveries in Block 10 and confirms the value of Eni’s Mexican asset portfolio, contributing to the potential synergic cluster development of several prospects located nearby.
Eni is the operator of Block 7 with a 45% stake; its joint venture partners in the project are Capricorn (30%) and Citla Energy (25%).
Eni has been present in Mexico since 2006 and established its wholly owned subsidiary Eni Mexico S. de R. L. de C.V. in 2015. The company currently holds rights in eight exploration and production blocks (six as operator), all located in the Sureste Basin in the Gulf of Mexico.
