EniMed, final sprint for gas wells in the Strait of Sicily

It seems immobile but it isn’t. Seen from the helicopter, the Saipem10000 ship, a technological giant of almost 100 thousand tons launched in 2000 in the Geoje shipyards in South Korea, which takes on board almost 200 people working 24 hours a day, and has 170 active wells (gas and oil ) drilled around the world, it seems really firm. But no because he is moving towards yet another stage: the point in the open sea where he will work on the drilling of the Cassiopea 2 well after having completed the first part of the work on the Cassiopea 3 well. We are offshore, in the Strait of Sicily, 12 miles from the coast, more or less in front of Porto Empedocle: in this area are the Argo and Cassiopea gas fields which are worth 10 billion cubic meters for an annual production, at peak times, of one and a half billion meters cubes (40% of regional consumption).

And the ship has been moving in this area since November last year with its load of technology which allows it to drill up to 10 thousand feet deep (about 3,000 metres) for the development of gas deposits: in this case the four affected wells are located at a depth between 540 and 620 meters and will be controlled via the existing Prezioso platform. All within the scope of the EniMed project, the Eni company that manages hydrocarbon production and treatment activities in Sicily of which Alina Pomar is president and CEO, who has established a joint venture with Energean, a company that already manages the Vega field offshore oil field also off the Sicilian coast, 20 kilometers south of Pozzallo. From Gela, from the Eni management center, the operations of four oil centers, three offshore platforms and three gas plants distributed throughout Sicily are coordinated.

The 60 kilometer long gas transportation line has already been built on the seabed with the laying of pipes that have been buried. The Argo-Cassiopea project (with works both at sea and on land) envisages total investments of 900 million and aims, explains Alina Pomar, «to enhance the territory with investments in the area, positive impacts on employment and valorisation of local related industries both in the construction and operational phases, as well as attracting further investments”. On land, within the Biorefinery area in a disused area, the construction of a new gas compression station is planned to be injected into the national network: the construction site was opened in September 2021 and the works are underway.

Onshore infrastructures that will certainly be useful also in the future with the possible developments that will come from new gas fields: there is further exploration potential in the area which could bring additional gas resources of around 8-10 billion cubic metres, which can be developed in the face of further investments in the area. Among these resources, in particular the Panda field and the exploration themes of Gemini, Centauro and Vela (Eni 60%, Energean 40%) in the Strait of Sicily: «The objective – says the CEO of EniMed – is to double our reserves.”

«We are convinced – says Alina Pomar – that the Argo Cassiopea project will contribute to the valorisation of the territory and the local economy and confirms Eni’s strategy in valorising national natural gas in terms of energy security and as a low-emission energy source. Domestic natural gas constitutes an important element for strengthening the national security of energy supply and, at the same time, for reducing emissions, in a zero kilometer logic.”