Eni Resumes Operations and Reveals Development Plans

After a two week halt in operations, Italian oil giant Eni offloaded and exported its first crude oil shipment from the Miamte Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel operating in Area 1. This marks a foundational step in the development of the Mexican oil and gas industry, as Eni is the first private company to develop a complex offshore project and to produce oil from it, now with the ability to export as well.

On March 31, Eni announced that it would stop production at Area 1, consisting of three of its most promising fields: Amoca-Miztón-Tecoalli. Due to a missing permit, the company was kept from exporting its first cargo and forced to clear a last-minute regulatory hurdle.

Eni started its Mexican production at the Miztón field in June 2019, becoming the first private-sector operator to record offshore oil production at the three-water field in Area 1, which is estimated to contain 2.1 billion BOE of recoverable resources, of which 90 percent is oil. This January, Miamte FPSO arrived in Mexico and following integrated commissioning activities, it started operations on Feb. 23. The FPSO is supplied by Japanese floater specialist Modec and chartered for a period of 15 years. It currently has a processing capacity of 90Mb/d of oil and 75MMcf/d of natural gas, with storage room for 700Mb/d of crude and a “zero-flaring philosophy”. 

In February, the national upstream regulator CNH reported that Area 1 had produced 9,336b/d. Despite facing setbacks at the beginning of April, Eni has seemingly recovered from the temporary halt in operations.

“This fast-track development has been possible thanks to the full alignment between the Mexican government, the relevant local authorities and Eni, and confirms the company’s commitment to meet project schedule and contractual obligations, actively supporting the country in the implementation of its energy development plan,” the company said .

As for plans for future development, Area 1 will include “33 wells connected to 3 wellhead platforms plus 1 monopod, in addition to the FPSO,” according to Eni’s press release. Presently, there are only 2 wellhead platforms in operations on Miztón and Amoca, but the company expects to start operations on Tecoali and further development on Amoca soon.

The Italian company has been present in Mexico since 2006 and has noted that this country is key to its organic growth strategy. In addition to holding a 100 percent share in Area 1, Eni has seven other exploration and production blocks in the Gulf of Mexico and currently holds the position of operator in five out of these.