Eni takes stake in Pakistani deep waters

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MILAN, Italy, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Italian energy company Eni announced it will serve as operator in a block in deep waters off the coast of Pakistan in what it said was a promising area.

Eni signed a deal with state oil and gas company OGDCL to take on 25 percent stake in Offshore Indus Block G, situated in the Indus Basin. Eni will serve as the operator in the block, "located in ultra deep water of an underexplored and promising area offshore Pakistan," the company said.

The Italian company has been working in Pakistan since 2000, producing around 58,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Eni in September announced it made a "significant" gas discovery about 200 miles north of Karachi in the Badhra exploration concession.

"The size of the discovery is currently estimated at between 300 billion and 400 billion cubic feet of gas in place and its delineation will require further appraisal wells," the company said in a statement.

Eni said the natural gas find was part of a strategy in Pakistan aimed at confirming "significant exploration potential."