Eni starts drilling offshore Malta

Eni has started drilling an exploratory well offshore Malta in accordance with its January 11, 2002 agreement with government, the Department of Information said yesterday.

The new well, Lampuko-1, is located about 14 nautical miles to the north west of Gozo, in about 250m of water.

It will test the petroleum potential of a sizeable geological structure which has not yet been drilled, located on the southern flank of the Ragusa basin where production of oil has been ongoing since the mid-fifties.

Lampuko-1 is the tenth well offshore Malta.

The semi-submersible rig Actinia sailed out of Malta Drydocks last Friday and was on location in the early hours of Saturday when it laid its eight anchors and was ready to spud the well at noon on Monday, the DOI said.

The rig, owned by Transocean Sedco Forex Ltd, had been in Malta since March 24 for extensive repair works, which were successfully completed ahead of schedule, enabling an early start to drilling.

While drilling Lampuko-1, the rig will be supported by two supply vessels and helicopter service operated jointly by Air Malta and Elilario Italia SpA.

In the meantime all marine craft are advised to keep a distance of at least 4.5 nautical miles from the rig on account of the wide span of the anchoring system used in deep water.

All operations are being directed from Agip Malta Exploration`s office in Sliema with the assistance of Eni`s specialised technical support teams in Milan and in consultation with the Oil Exploration Department of the Office of the Prime Minister.

Weather permitting, the operations are expected to last about three months, but may take longer depending on the outcome of drilling.