Eni makes oil discovery onshore Egypt

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MILAN, Italy, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Italian energy company Eni announced Wednesday it made an oil discovery in a deep well in Egypt's Western Desert.

Eni announced it encountered an oil pay measuring around 260 feet in deep oil plays across the Western Desert reservoirs of Bahariya, Alam el Bueib, Khatatba and Ras Qattara.

"Production for each well is estimated at 2,000 barrels of oil per day," the company said.

Kuwait Energy in October said it discovered oil in the Ahmad-2 well of the Area A license in the Gulf of Suez. The independent company said the initial test of the well yielded around 1,300 barrels of oil per day.

Egypt is described by the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration as a "significant" oil producer, though the country struggles to meet domestic energy demand.

Egyptian natural gas demand is starting to outpace domestic production. Supermajor Shell said it was considering a potential liquefied natural gas terminal in Egypt to transform the country into a net importer.