The Nene Marine 3 exploration well was drilled in a water depth of 28m and encountered wet gas and light oil in the pre-salt clastic sequence.

During production testing the well flowed more than 5000 barrels of oil per day, with Eni estimating that the Nene Marine field contains 1.2 billion barrels of oil and 30 billion cubic metres of gas in place.

The block is also thought to have great exploration upside, which will be determined by the next exploratory and delineation campaign.

Eni holds 65% of the Marine XII block, sharing it with New Age (25%) and SNPC (10%).

The company's operated production in the sub-Saharan region is approximately 450,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

According to the company's 2014-17 strategic plan, its African operations will continue to focus on exploration in Mozambique, Kenya, Congo, Angola and Gabon.