Italian energy company Eni has announced a new oil and gas discovery in the Sureste Basin offshore Mexico.  

The find, made at the Yopaat-1 EXP exploration well in Block 9, is approximately 63km from the coast and could potentially yield 300–400mboe. 

The well, drilled to a total depth of 2,931m in a water depth of 525m, encountered approximately 200m of net pay with hydrocarbon-bearing sands in the Pliocene and Miocene sequences.  

Eni said it is now undertaking a data acquisition campaign to further assess the potential of the find.  

The Italian company operates Block 9 with a 50% participating interest, while the remaining 50% is controlled by Spanish company Repsol. 

Eni emphasised that this discovery, coupled with previous finds in Blocks 7 and 10 that it operates, highlights the strategic significance of the company's asset portfolio in the region. 

With the discovery, Eni’s cumulative resources in the Sureste Basin now exceed 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent.  

These findings enable Eni to explore the feasibility of a 'hub' development that would integrate these discoveries with existing nearby infrastructures, the company added. 

Eni established Eni Mexico in 2015. As the main foreign operator in the country, Eni holds rights in eight exploration and production blocks in the Gulf of Mexico's Sureste Basin, operating seven of them. 

In another recent development, Eni reached an agreement to sell its interest in Alaska's Nikaitchuq and Oooguruk oilfields to US energy company Hilcorp.  

The Nikaitchuq field, in operation since January 2011, is forecasted to produce for more than 30 years with a peak production of 28,000 barrels per day (bpd).  

Eni acquired full ownership of the Oooguruk field in 2019, and in 2023, these fields collectively contributed around 20,000bpd to Eni’s consolidated production, representing around 1.2%.