Italy's largest energy company Eni said Thursday it has made a significant discovery of around 150-250 million barrels of oil in Egypt.
The oil reserves have been found in the Meleiha field in the Western Desert, around 300 km from the port city of Alexandria, AKI news agency reported.
The well located in Meleiha was drilled to a total depth of 3,628 metres and is estimated to have reserves of 150-250 million barrels, Eni said.
Production from the well and other test wells will be approximately 10,000 barrels of oil per day in the next few months.
Eni owns a 56 percent working interest in Meleiha. Russia's Lukoil holds a 24 percent stake and Japan's Mitsui owns 20 percent.
Eni, through its fully owned affiliate the International Egyptian Oil Company, has been present in Egypt since 1954 and is the largest foreign energy company in the country.