Eni reports huge oil, gas find in Nigeria

LAGOS: Italian oil major Eni said Wednesday that Nigerian subsidiary Agip has found lots of gas and oil in an onshore facility in the Niger delta, raising potential output in Africa's leading oil exporter.

The Eni-operated NAOC, which is majority owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), with minority stakes held by Oando and Eni, made the discovery in the Obiafu-Obrikom fields, a statement said.

"The find amounts to about 1 trillion cubic feet of gas and 60 million barrels of associated condensate in the deep drilled sequences," the statement added.

It said "the well can deliver in excess of 100 million standard cubic feet/day of gas and 3,000 barrels/day of associated condensates, and will be immediately put on-stream to increase NAOC's gas production."

Eni which has been operating in Nigeria since 1962, currently produces 100,000 barrels per day of crude oil.

Nigeria is Africa's oil largest producer, accounting for a daily output of two million barrels per day, but it is seeking to boost that to four million barrels.

The west African nation depends on the oil sector for 70 percent of government revenue and 90 percent of foreign exchange earnings.