Eni confirms major oil discovery in Angola with BP joint venture

(Alliance News) - Eni Spa on Saturday confirmed a new oil discovery offshore Angola, made in a block operated by its Azule Energy Ltd joint venture with London-based BP PLC, describing the find as "significant" based on early assessments.

The Rome-based integrated energy company said the discovery was made at the Algaita?01 exploration well in Block 15/06, about 18 kilometres from the Olombendo floating production, storage and offloading vessel, with existing nearby production infrastructure expected to support development.

Preliminary estimates indicated around 500 million barrels of oil in place.

The well was drilled by the Saipem Spa-owned Saipem 12000 drill ship, encountering multiple upper miocene oil?bearing sandstones with strong petrophysical properties, which Eni said indicates potential for strong flow.

"A comprehensive data acquisition campaign, including fluid sampling, confirmed the quality of the reservoir and the fluid characteristics," Eni said in a statement.

Block 15/06 is operated by the Azule Energy joint venture alongside partners SSI Fifteen Ltd and Sonangol E&P.

Shares in Eni closed 0.5% higher at EUR18.18 in Milan on Friday, while BP shares ended 0.1% higher at 458.50 pence in London.

By Judy Amaca, Alliance News reporter Asia-Pacific

Comments and questions to [e-mail]

Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.