The Stones-3 exploration well, which was drilled 1.6km north of the Stones-1 discovery, reached a total depth of approximately 9,000m and encountered multiple oil-bearing sands. The well data is expected to be analyzed while future drilling activity is being planned to further define the size of the discovery.
Eni owns a 15% working interest in the Stones prospect. Shell is the operator with a 35% stake, while Marathon Oil with 25% and Petrobras with 25% are the other partners.
The Stones unit is part of the exploration portfolio acquired by Eni in July 2007 from Dominion and has additional exploration opportunities.
The Stones discovery is located near other recent discoveries in deep reservoir sands such as St Malo, the Chinook and the Cascade. Eni said that it holds a considerable exploration portfolio in this area, with several new opportunities being matured for future drilling.
