Eni marks oil milestone in Alaskan waters

MILAN, Italy, June 19 (UPI) -- Italian energy company Eni said Thursday it reached a milestone for oil production from the Nikaitchuq field in the arctic waters off the coast of Alaska.

Eni said it achieved its production goal of 25,000 barrels of oil per day from the Nikaitchuq field. The company is the operator of the field, estimated to hold 200 million barrels of crude oil.

"Nikaitchuq production, which began in January 2011, is the first operated by Eni in the arctic," the company said in a statement.

Oil from the North Slope field is sent through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline system. With the production milestone reached, the company said it now aims to get 30,000 bpd from the field within the next 12 months.

The field is located in the North Slope of Alaska in shallow water. The company said field development includes drilling of wells and construction of associated infrastructure from land and from artificial islands built by Eni in the Beaufort Sea.

The company said facilities tied to the field are designed to minimize the impact on the environment.